NABOB Remembers Broadcast Legend Pervis Spann ‘The Blues Man’; Co-Founder of Midway Broadcasting Corporation
21 Mar
Black Radio lost a giant. WVON Radio announced the passing of its President Emeritus, Pervis Spann, Co-Founder of Midway Broadcasting Corporation, the station’s parent company. Spann died following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 89.
Spann’s broadcast career spanned more than 60 years. In 1963, he became the second disc jockey hired by Leonard Chess, who founded the legendary WVON Radio Station that same year. Spann reigned as the most listened-to overnight disc jockey in Chicago for more than 10 years. Because of his love for Blues music, he became known throughout the broadcast industry as ‘The Blues Man.’
Known globally as the person who crowned Aretha Franklin ‘The Queen of Soul’ and B.B. King ‘The King of Blues’, Spann was also a successful concert promoter and radio station owner, acquiring stations in Jacksonville, FL; Atlanta, GA, and Memphis, TN. However, it was at WVON Radio in Chicago, where he built his incomparable broadcast career.
Jim Winston, NABOB President, said, “Pervis was active in NABOB in my early years at NABOB. He also became one of the first clients of my law firm. Pervis came to visit me at my law office once, and he told me he wanted to pay my bill. He then proceeded to pull this huge wad of one-hundred-dollar bills from his pocket. When I gasped, he laughed. He explained that, when he promoted concerts, he frequently walked around the concert with fifty thousand dollars in cash on him.”
Winston added, “Pervis was a great person. I never saw him without a smile on his face. On behalf of NABOB, and for me personally, I extend sincere condolences to NABOB Board Member Melody Spann-Cooper and the Spann family.”
Pervis is survived by his wife of 67 years, Lovie Spann and four children, including Radio executive, Melody Spann-Cooper. Funeral services are pending.
Watch the video below to learn more about Pervis Spann’s legendary mark in history.
NABOB is the first and only trade organization representing the interests of African-American owners of radio and television stations across the country. The association was organized in 1976 by a small group of African-American broadcasters who desired to establish a voice and a viable presence in the industry and to address specific concerns facing African-American broadcasters.
