WVON is operated by Midway Broadcasting Corporation via a local marketing agreement with frequency owner iHeartMedia.

In 1963 Chess Records bought the station and debuted WVON, with its programming of soul, and rhythm and blues music becoming very popular throughout the 1960s.

[3] Licensed to Berwyn, Illinois, WVON has studios in the South Loop,[4] and its transmitter is located at 87th and Kedzie in Chicago's Ashburn community.

[13] WVON debuted on April 1, 1963, and quickly became a success playing R&B music, becoming the second most listened to Chicago station during evening hours by early 1964.

[14][15] WEHS's call sign was changed to WHFC, and simulcast WVON's programming until 1965, when 97.9 adopted a jazz format as WSDM.

[15][18][19] WVON was a "heritage" station to Chicago's black community featuring great Black air personalities like Moses "Lucky" Cordell, Bruce Brown, Herb Kent "The Cool Gent",[20][21][22] E. Rodney Jones,[20] Cecil Hale, Joe "Youngblood" Cobb,[20] Ed "Nassau Daddy" Cook, Bill "Butterball" Crane, Pervis Spann,[14][20] Don Cornelius,[20] Sid McCoy (who would accompany Cornelius when he formed Soul Train), Richard Pegue, Bernadine C. Washington, Jay Johnson, newsmen Roy Wood[20] and Jim Moloney, a very young reporter/engineer Larry Langford and many others.

[28] On August 24, 1976, FM classical music station WFMT was allowed to simulcast on 1450 as an interim operator while the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) evaluated applications for a new license for the frequency.

[29] WVON reduced its news and community programming beginning in 1974, but continued to air a weekly broadcast by Jesse Jackson.

[36][37] WXOL broadcast from studios at that location, while WCEV built its own facilities on the northwest side of Chicago.

[46][47][48] On September 18, 2006, the station got another signal upgrade when WVON's call letters and programming moved to 1690 AM broadcasting with 10,000 watts during the day.

[49] This happened when Midway Broadcasting took over management of the station using an LMA (like a lease agreement) on the frequency licensed to Berwyn, Illinois, and owned by Clear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia).

[45] In 2007, the station's studios were moved from their longtime home at 3350 S. Kedzie to the former Soft Sheen Products Building on 87th Street in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood.

[52][53] In summer 2020, Stroger left WVON, along with his co-host Maze Jackson, after being told by station management that they could no longer discuss Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and to disconnect any callers who were critical of her, immediately joining 1570 WBGX in the same time slot.