WVON History

From 1963 to the present, WVON has gone from being "The Voice of the Negro" to "The Voice of the Nation." We provide an interactive forum for the African-American community to discuss current, social, economic, and political issues. WVON is "The Talk of Chicago," where we are always giving you something to talk about.

From Where We Began...

WVON originated from the acquisition of WHFC-1450AM, a 1,000-watt station licensed to Cicero, Illinois, by Leonard and Phil Chess, the owners of Chess Records, a successful record label, which produced mega-hits for local artists such as Muddy Waters, Lil' Howlin' Wolf, and others. The brothers envisioned one station that would pull together the best radio talent who could galvanize all of black Chicago.

On April 1, 1963, WVON hit the airwaves in Chicago with a group of handpicked personalities: Franklin McCarthy, E. Rodney Jones, Herb Kent, Wesley South, and Pervis Spann. They became known as "The Good Guys," and Ric Ricardo, Bill "Butterball" Crane, Ed Cook, Joe Cobb, Roy Wood, Ed Maloney, Bill "Doc" Lee, Don Cornelius, Richard Pegue, Isabel Joseph Johnson, Cecil Hale, and McKee Fitzhugh eventually joined the roster. Under the direction of the station's general manager, Lucky Cordell, and its "Ambassador of Good Will," Bernadine C. Washington,
The Good Guys held Black Chicago captive for more than a decade and
ranked consistently in the top 5 of the "most listened to" stations in
the market.

The power of WVON went beyond the Chicago market. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, had a special arrangement with WVON that every song he produced would be sent immediately to WVON before any other station. Rotation on WVON was so powerful that it influenced airplay in other markets, which impacted the overall sales and success of the project.

WVON has always been more than just a radio station. During a time when Blacks were actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement, WVON was the voice of information for local and national affairs. During the riots that followed the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., WVON on-air personalities were there to lift the spirits and ease the tension that had erupted in neighborhoods across the city.

Following the death of Leonard Chess in 1969, the Chess family decided to sell WVON to George Gillette (heir to shaving products company) and Potter Palmer (heir to Palmer House), who formed Globetrotter Communications. Their first order of business was to move WVON from 1450 frequency to the 5,000 watt 1390 signal, which would improve their coverage of Chicago. The 1450 frequency was left dormant.

In the mid '70's, as the radio market in Chicago became more competitive and FM radio began to gain momentum, new management at Globetrotter Communications decided that the Good Guy era had run its course and fired the entire staff. New personalities took to the airwaves, but never with the fanfare of the Good Guys.

In 1977, Globetrotter Communications sold WVON to the Gannett Company, whose major holdings were in print media. Gannett had purchased an FM station in Chicago, which became known as WGCI.

Many of the Good Guys revitalized successful careers in other endeavors. Pervis Spann and Wesley South formed Midway Broadcasting Corporation and purchased the 1450 frequency. Their station. WXOL premiered in August 1979. In 1984, following Gannett's decision to drop the WVON call letters from their signal, WXOL's owners immediately filed with the FCC to obtain the WVON call letters and the Voice of the Negro returned to 1450.

In 1986, at the height of the Black community's political involvement in Chicago, which resulted in the election of Harold Washington, Chicago's first African-American mayor, Wesley South, co-owner of WVON, opted to change the station's format to talk, providing Chicago with its first Black-talk radio format.

For 40 years, WVON has been and remains the drum major for the African-American community of Chicago. It continues to provide a platform on which Black Chicago can air its concerns, voice its differences, and discuss the issues that affect our society.

From "The Voice of the Negro" to "The Voice of the Nation", WVON has carved a special niche in the history of Chicago radio.


E. Rodney Jones


Pervis Spann

Views: 49

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Born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, in 1932, Pervis Spann has distinguished himself as a broadcaster, exposing generations to the blues.

Spann worked hard from an early age, caring for his mother after she suffered a stroke. At age fourteen, he managed the Dixie Theater, a local all-black theater. In 1949, he moved with his mother and sister to Battle Creek, Michigan. However, Spann soon left to work in Gary, Indiana. Spann enlisted in the U.S. Army toward the end of the Korean War. After completing his service, he moved to Chicago and settled down. He became interested in broadcasting and attended the Midway Television Institute and the Midwestern Broadcasting School on the G.I. Bill.

In the 1950s, Spann was granted a four-hour overnight time slot on WOPA. In 1960, he organized his first concert, showcasing B.B. King and Junior Parker. In 1963, Phil and Leonard Chess bought the radio station, which became WVON, a twenty-four-hour blues station. Spann became the "all-night blues man." He gained notoriety with an on-air eighty-seven-hour "sleepless sit-in," raising money for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Spann widened his sphere of influence during the 1960s and began managing talented performers such as B.B. King. He booked major acts, including the Jackson 5 and Aretha Franklin. Spann also owned several South Side clubs in Chicago, including the Burning Spear.

In 1975, WVON was sold and changed frequency. Forming a business syndicate with Vernon Jarrett and Wesley South, Spann bought the license to the original frequency in 1979. Listeners to the new station, WXOL, heard an all-blues format and many of the same voices from the old WVON. The station reclaimed its old call letters in 1983.

In the 1980s, Spann added another station to his radio empire, WXSS in Memphis. He later sold this station. His focus then returned to building WVON with his daughter, Melody Spann-Cooper, at the helm. He continues his career promoting the blues as the co-host of the popular cable show Blues and More.

Spann was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on February 8, 2002.


Lucky Cordell Biography

Disc jockey Moses "Lucky" Cordell, affectionately known as "The Baron of Bounce," was born in Grenada, Mississippi, on July 28, 1928, to Grace and Moses Cordell. At age three, his mother died unexpectedly and his family moved to Chicago. Cordell attended Chicago Public Schools and graduated from Dunbar Technical High School in 1946. Shortly after graduation, Cordell joined the U.S. Army, serving in the Special Services Branch. While in the military, Cordell developed his theatrical ability. He received an honorable discharge in 1948. He was hired at WGES as a disk jockey in 1952 to work under Al Benson.

While working at WGRY in Gary, Indiana, Cordell hosted the popular show House of Hits. The show was well known for its audience participation and became a community favorite among African Americans in Gary. In 1956, local newspapers held an election for the "Honorary Mayor of the Negro Community" and Cordell won unanimously (beating four other radio personalities, religious leaders and political leaders). He held this honor for four years, until he decided not to run in 1960.

Cordell worked at several other radio stations in the Chicago area before taking a position as a disc jockey at WVON in Chicago. WVON, owned and operated by Chess Records, would become one of the most influential radio stations in United States history. Cordell became WVON's program and music director in 1965, and in 1968 he was promoted to assistant general manager. After a change in station ownership in late 1970, Cordell became general manager. Under his leadership, the station increased its ratings and almost doubled the income received from advertising.

In the late 1960s, Cordell joined the Chicago Urban League. Now retired from the radio business, Cordell remains an active member of Chicago's African American community.

Cordell was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 16, 2001.

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  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

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