Blast from the past: Jeff Davis rocks again on WLS-FM

Jeff Davis

Another legendary Chicago voice is returning to WLS-FM (94.7).

Jeff Davis, who was associated with WLS-AM (890) for 38 years, is coming back as weekend personality on the Cumulus Media classic hits FM station. Starting November 17, he’ll host middays Saturdays on WLS-FM.

Calling him “a great guy and a major talent [with] a work ethic second to none,” Jan Jeffries, senior vice president of programming for Cumulus Media and program director of WLS-FM, said Davis would continue to be based in Los Angeles, but would make periodic trips to the station’s studios in Chicago.

Davis joined WLS in its Top 40 heyday in 1974 as director of special projects. Four years later he moved up to nighttime personality, occupying the rarefied 10pm to 2 am weekday shift on the 50,000-watt powerhouse. His make-or-break influence on music helped propel the local group Styx to national stardom.

In 1986, Jeffries (then program director at WLS-FM) tapped Davis to become full-time production/imaging director. “The move to full-time production and imaging at WLS-FM led Jeff to become a nationally known production and voice-over wizard,” Jeffries recalled. Since Davis moved out west, his business has thrived.

Davis remained a ubiquitous presence on WLS-AM until last April when he was dropped as the news/talk station’s imaging voice.

At WLS-FM, Davis joins an all-star lineup of veteran Chicago personalities, including Dick Biondi, Fred Winston, John Records Landecker, Greg Brown and Brant Miller.