The station went on the air as WEMD-FM in 1975 simulcasting its AM sister station WEMD which had a middle of the road format along with news, farm reports, and local happenings. On December 21, 1981, the station changed its call sign to the current WCEI-FM to represent the new owners, Clark Enterprises Incorporated.[5] On August 24, 1985, WCEI-FM became an affiliate of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem.
In its early years, WEMD-FM was a 3,000 watt station. Sometime in the mid-late 1980s, WCEI-FM asked for a power increase due to the fact that it was an Emergency Alert System Carrier and needed a more powerful reach and penetration into businesses and homes. The ask was roughly for 10,000 watts but the station was given an increase to a B1 - 12,500 watts.