The 95.1 frequency was licensed as WGHF from 1957 through 1970. Sister station WINE-AM signed on in 1963 as a fifty percent simulcast of WGHF. In 1970, the call sign was changed to WINE-FM and remained that way until 1976.

The station known as "I-95" (which takes its name from Interstate 95) signed on playing Album Oriented Rock at 6PM on December 24, 1976. The first song played was "The Bitch Is Back" by Elton John. The station's original slogan was "Fairfield County's Best Rock." In 1982 the station had a brief detour into Modern Rock and New Wave as "The Rock Of The 80's" but soon returned to its rock roots. The station has also been known as "The Non-Stop Rock Station", "Connecticut's Best Rock & Roll", "Connecticut's Rock & Roll Favorites", "Real Rock" and "Danbury's Rock Station" but has most consistently been and currently known as "The Home Of Rock 'n' Roll."

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus Media stations, including WRKI, for $238 million. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by Oaktree Capital Management.[3][4] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.