Date: 2013-04-17
Speaker: DANNY K. DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

I rise to congratulate WVON Radio on 50 years of broadcasting. On April 1. 1963. WVON Radio in Chicago. Illinois. was launched. and since that time has gone from being "the voice of the Negro" to "the voice of the Nation." WVON began when two brothers. Leonard and Phil Chess. the owners of a successful music business. Chess Records. with a plentiful supply of local music under their banner such as Muddy Waters. Lil Howlin Wolf. Jimmy Reed. and others. needed a way to express their music. Therefore. the brothers bought WHFC1450 AM. a 1.000watt station licensed in Cicero. Illinois. 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." 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 stations general manager. Lucky Cordell. and its "Ambassador of Goodwill." Bernadine C. Washington. The Good Guys held black radio listeners hostage in Chicago for a number of years. It became the hottest station in the market. Not only did it convey music. it also conveyed public information. public events. and what was going on. It was the voice during the civil rights movement. and individuals were often given the opportunity to speak. Dr. Martin Luther King was interviewed by Leslie South. as well as Elijah Muhammad and others. These personalities became so informational and influential that during the riots after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. they called for calm and peace. And people began to listen to them. They were very influential throughout what was called the civil rights movement. and individuals often went to them. They also had a relationship with Berry Gordy in Detroit. when he formed Motown Records. and every time a record would come out. he would send it to the WVON station before sending it anyplace else. WVON actually was instrumental in electing Harold Washington. the first black mayor of Chicago. Lou Palmer. who had a radio series called "Lous Notebook." had a slogan: "We shall see in 83." And that became the rallying cry. It was also instrumental in electing Carol Moseley Braun to the United States Senate. electing Barack Obama to the United States Senate. and ultimately electing Barack Obama President of the United States of America. Always more than a radio station. it belonged to the community and was the heart of the community. So I congratulate Melody Spann Cooper and all of those who have made WVON what it is today: the voice of the Nation. Congratulations to WVON Radio on fifty years of broadcasting. Mr. Speaker. On April 1. 1963. WVON Radio in Chicago. Illinois was launched and since that time has gone from being "the voice of the negro" to "the voice of the Nation." WVON began when two brothers. Leonard and Phil Chess. the owners of Chess Records. a successful record company with a plentiful supply of local music talent under their banner. such as Muddy Waters. Lil Howlin Wolf. Jimmy Reed and others. who needed an outlet for their music. Therefore. the brothers bought WHFC1450 AM. a 1000 watt station licensed in Cicero. Illinois. 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 Fitghugh eventfully joined the roster. Under the direction of the stations 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 five 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. WVON was so powerful that it produced airplay in other markets. which impacted the overall sales and success of the project. WVON has always been more than 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 onair personalities were there to lift the tension that had erupted in neighborhoods across the city. They pleaded for calmness. Following the death of Chess in 1969. the family decided to sell WVON to George Gillette (heir to the Shaving Products Company) and to Potter Palmer (heir to Palmer house) who formed Globetrotter Communications. Their first order of business was to take WVON from 1450 frequency to 5.000 watt 1390 signal. which would improve their coverage of Chicago. The 1450 frequency was left dormant. 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. In 1979. Wesley South and Pervis Spann formed Midway Broadcasting Corporation and purchased the license for the 1450 AM frequency. Their station WXOL premiered in August of 1979 and remains one of the few minorityowned stations in the market. WVON became a mixed music/talk radio station and with Wesley South. the hotline show in the evening with journalist Lu Palmer doing a notebook series called "Lous notebook." Lou spearheaded the election of Harold Washington as Chicagos first Black mayor with the slogan. "We Shall See in 83." Upon the urging of Wesley South.a radio talk show pioneer. WVON changed to a talk format and has never looked back. It has been instrumental in not only electing Harold Washington as Chicagos first Black mayor. but also in electing Carol Mosley Braun. U.S. Senator. Barack Obama. United States Senator. and Barack Obama. President of the United States of America. WVONs current lineup of hosts are some of the best in the Nation: Cliff Kelly. called the governor of talk radio. Matt McGill. Perry Small. Reverend Al Sharpton. Saleem Muwakil. Kendall Moore. Dr. Leon Finney. and from time to time. Pam Morris. Dr. Terry Mason. and countless others who buy time like Garfield Major. talking to the people. Congratulations to Melody Spann Cooper and all of those who have helped to make WVON Radio what it is today.