‘He loved Chicago:’ Melody Spann Cooper remembers the grit, determination, and trailblazing story of her father, Pervis Spann ‘The Blues Man’

CHICAGO (CBS) — Family, friends, and civil rights icons gathered Wednesday for a moving musical tribute to “The Blues Man” Pervis Spann.

Spann died on Monday, March 14. He began his radio career in the 1950s and later purchased WVON in the late 70s. He also owned radio stations in Memphis; Atlanta; and Jacksonville, Florida.

But while many knew Spann as a blues legend and a businessman, he was just Dad to Melody Spann Cooper. CBS 2’s Irika Sargent sat down exclusively with Spann Cooper this week to learn about the one-of-a-kind man, their bond, and Spann’s final moments battling what Spann Cooper calls a cruel disease – Alzheimer’s.

“I knew he wasn’t going until he was ready, and I knew he was ready,” Spann Cooper said.

But it is never easy saying a final goodbye to the one who has been your biggest inspiration.

What brings Melody Spann Cooper comfort is knowing that her father packed so much into his 89 years and blazed a trail like no other in Chicago.

“Imagine in a very short period of time, going from sharecropping to shareholding,” Spann Cooper said. “You know, that was just amazing.”

Pervis Spann grew up in the small town of Itta Bena, Mississippi, and took on many jobs when he moved to Chicago. But it was blues music that sparked an empire.

“There was nothing he could not do,” Spann Cooper told Sargent. “He really lived his life, Irika, with no ceilings. There was nothing my dad didn’t think he could accomplish.”

Spann started as a DJ on WOPA radio. Then, Chess Records cofounder Leonard Chess took notice and hired Spann at WVON.

Spann quickly became the most popular DJ on the overnights. He called himself “The Blues Man.”

He was also a concert promoter and a nightclub owner.

“I just remember there was always a house that was life – music, you know,” Spann Cooper said. “I could wake up and B.B. King would be in the kitchen, or Johnny Taylor.”

Spann actually gave B.B. King the title of “King of the Blues,” and proclaimed Aretha Franklin the “Queen of Soul.”

But even deeply immersed in the entertainment industry, Spann Cooper said her father had a strict code of conduct.

“My dad didn’t smoke. he didn’t drink,” Spann Cooper said. “He just believed in hard work.”

Spann spent a record 87 hours nonstop on air to raise money for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights era.

Spann eventually went from DJ to owner of WVON, and cofounded the parent company Midway Broadcasting Corporation. He expanded with other radio stations across the country.

“When we talk about somebody building a radio station, you think, ‘OK they get the license from the FCC,'” Spann Cooper said. “No, he was literally in the grass with the antennas.”

But the last eight years had been drastically different, as Spann struggled with Alzheimer’s.

“He was, you know, not audible. He was in the bed,” Spann Cooper said. “But you could talk to him. He could move his eyes.”

It was heartbreaking for a man whose voice was legendary.

“It’s a cruel disease,” Spann Cooper said.

Sargent asked Spann Cooper what she would miss most about her dad.

“His advice,” Spann Cooper replied. “His Southern, organic, just straight-no-chaser advice.”

And that is what Spann Cooper relies on to keep leading the company like her father.

“He made a difference in the city that he loved,” she said. “He loved Chicago.”

Spann said when her dad came up with new business ideas, she would say, “Dad, that’s crazy.” But he always found his way to make a success, and she hopes his determination inspires the next generation to do it too.