Shortly after moving to Michigan, Spann left to work in Gary, Indiana, and spent a time in the forces in the Korean War.
[4] He subsequently returned to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked in a steel mill, drove a taxi, and repaired television sets.
[6] Three years later, when Leonard and Phil Chess launched WVON, Spann was given a regular late-night blues slot,[1] and won attention with an 87-hour "sleepless sit-in" on the station to raise money for Martin Luther King Jr.
[9][10][11] Eight years later, he ran for the Chicago City Council in the 18th Ward, with James Brown visiting the South Side to campaign for him.
Melody became chair and chief executive officer of Midway Broadcasting Corporation (which owns WVON), while Darrell was his caregiver during his later years.