Full Text of HR0778 102nd General Assembly
HR0778 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Pervis | 4 | | "Blues Man" Spann of Chicago, who passed away on March 14, | 5 | | 2022; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi | 7 | | on August 16, 1932; alongside his mother and sister, he moved | 8 | | to Battle Creek, Michigan in 1949; he soon followed his father | 9 | | to Indiana; he served stateside in the U.S. Army during the | 10 | | Korean War era; he then moved to Chicago; he attended the | 11 | | Midway Television Institute and the Midwestern Broadcasting | 12 | | School and was also a student of the Moody Bible Institute; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann's first job in radio was as a disc | 14 | | jockey (DJ) at station WOPA in Oak Park in the 1950s; he was | 15 | | hired as a DJ at WVON by Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess | 16 | | Records, who bought the station in 1963; he became known as one | 17 | | of WVON's "Good Guys", a group of star DJs, and was noted as | 18 | | one of the few DJs who played music that related to the Black | 19 | | experience; he gained notoriety with an on-air, 87-hour | 20 | | sleepless sit-in, which raised money for Dr. Martin Luther | 21 | | King Jr.; he established a brilliant and unique relationship | 22 | | with Barry Gordy of Motown Records, which permitted new Motown | 23 | | recordings to be heard on WVON first; he co-founded the Midway |
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| 1 | | Broadcasting Corporation with fellow DJ Wesley South to run | 2 | | the station in 1979; he also bought radio stations in Atlanta, | 3 | | Jacksonville, Florida, and Memphis; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann formed the Delta Production Company, | 5 | | which promoted and produced shows featuring Black | 6 | | entertainment for Black audiences, with venues including The | 7 | | Regal Theater, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago Stadium, Arie Crown | 8 | | Theater, Lyric Opera House, Trianon Ballroom, and Soldier | 9 | | Field; he promoted between 90 to 95 percent of all the major | 10 | | concerts in the Chicago area, booking such stars as James | 11 | | Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., The Temptations, Chaka Khan, Dinah | 12 | | Washington, Jerry Butler, The Impressions, The Four Tops, | 13 | | Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Otis Clay, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sam | 14 | | Cooke, The Staple Singers, The Commodores, Marvin Gaye, Cab | 15 | | Calloway, Roy Hamilton, Jackie Wilson, Little Richard, and | 16 | | Count Basie, among others; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann was credited with boosting the | 18 | | careers of Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, and the Jackson 5; he | 19 | | gave Aretha Franklin the moniker "Queen of Soul"; alongside | 20 | | fellow DJ E. Rodney Jones, he purchased the Burning Spear | 21 | | nightclub on 55th Street in the early 1960s, which was the | 22 | | setting for the Jackson 5's first Chicago performance and | 23 | | where they won their first major talent show; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann hosted the cable TV show Blues and | 2 | | More with his comedian friend Carl Wright; he also authored | 3 | | the memoir 40 Years Spann; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann ran in Chicago's Republican mayoral | 5 | | primary in 1991 and for the Chicago City Council's 18th Ward in | 6 | | 1999; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann was known for helping others through | 8 | | providing shows and outreach; he enjoyed boxing and | 9 | | photography; he will be remembered as an astute businessman | 10 | | and a cultural icon; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Pervis Spann is survived by his wife of 67 years, | 12 | | Lovie Spann; his son and caretaker, Darrell; and his | 13 | | daughters, Melody Spann Cooper, Latrice Levitt, and Chanté | 14 | | Spann; therefore, be it
| 15 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 16 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 17 | | we mourn the passing of
Pervis "Blues Man" Spann and extend our | 18 | | sincere
condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | 19 | | and loved
him; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 21 | | presented to the family of Pervis Spann as an expression of
our |
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| 1 | | deepest sympathy.
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