April 1, 1963: WVON founded as a 1,000-watt station at 1450 AM by Leonard and Phil Chess; Pervis Spann, the Blues Man, is the first DJ on the air.
1968: Rev. Jesse L. Jackson calls WVON to report news of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
1969: WVON sold to George Gillette and Potter Palmer’s Globetrotter Communications
1975: WVON moved to 5,000-watt 1390 AM
1977: Globetrotter sells WVON to Gannett Co.
1977: Pervis Spann, Wesley South and others form Midway Broadcasting Corp. and purchase the 1450 frequency
1979: Spann and South launch WXOL
1984: Gannett drops the WVON call letters; Midway Broadcasting files with the FCC to obtain WVON call letters
1986: WVON co-owner South changes station’s format to all talk
2002: State Sen. Barack Obama fills in for vacationing Cliff Kelley
2006: WVON moves up the dial to 1690 AM and goes to 24-hour format
2013: WVON, at 10,000 watts, marks 50th anniversary
— Howard Reich
