Jon Grayson

Jon Grayson began his career in talk radio at age 19 while still in college. In just three years he had already hosted sports, politics, and general interest talk shows and served as the executive producer and on-air co-host of a top-rated weekly comedy broadcast on WFLA-AM in Tampa, FL.

Jon honed his style through his early 20′s and landed the evening talk show host position at WWTN-FM in Nashville, TN at age 27. The show went quickly to number 1 in the ratings and Jon enjoyed three years at the top of Nashville radio. In 2000, Jon moved to heritage CBS property KMOX-AM in St. Louis, MO where he hosted the overnight program for five years. During that time Jon also served as Science Editor, hosted the “KMOX Evening Special” and, following the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, hosted a new program documenting the lead-up to the war in Iraq, “Showdown With Saddam.”

Then Jon teamed up with John Carney for the fan-favorite “Two Johns, No Waiting” show before once again going solo for the launch of Overnight America in 2009. Since then Overnight America has added stations ranging from WCCO in the Twin Cities to KDKA in Pittsburgh to KFWB Los Angeles, WBAL Baltimore, WDBO Orlando and many more.

Over the years Jon’s varied interests have shown up both in the topics discussed on the show and in the list of guests he’s interviewed. From pop culture to politics, from famous crimes to favorite movies, you’ll hear it all on Jon’s show. Guests have included the late IL Senator Paul Simon, “NCIS” star Pauley Perrette, Dan Aykroyd, Eric Burdon of the Animals, James “The Amazing” Randi, Eagles guitarist and vocalist Glenn Frey, MO Senator Kit Bond, movie special effects master Tom Savini, Alan Thicke, Jim Parsons from “The Big Bang Theory” and many more.

In 2006 Jon’s career took an unexpected turn with an invitation by the United States Department of Defense to tour the war zone in Iraq. For ten days Jon traveled by Blackhawk helicopter, HumVee and armored transport from Baghdad to Iskandariyah. He interviewed soldiers, civilians, Iraqi police and politicians. He heard gun and mortar fire and saw the aftermath of roadside bombs, and even dipped his feet in what used to be Saddam Hussein’s pool. Jon remains grateful for the opportunity to view the war zone from the inside, and is forever indebted to the military and civilian security teams who kept him safe and allowed him to bring the story home.

Jon lives in the St. Louis area with his wife, Jennifer, and four sons, two dogs, two cats and a quaker parrot named Sheldon whom Jon taught to say “Bazinga.”

CONNECT WITH JON:
Email | Twitter | Overnight America

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH JON:

What is your favorite St. Louis activity?
Taking the kids to City Museum.

What would you do if you weren’t in radio?
If I weren’t in radio I’d like to join a fossil dig in the Rift Valley to try and add to the base of knowledge about human origins.

Do you have any pets?
A rescue mutt named Louie, a Maltese dog named Koda, cats Monk and Nala, and Quaker Parrot Sheldon.

Share one random fact.
I once rode Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disney World with Wang Chung.

If you could live anywhere else in the country, where would it be?
You said “in the country,” so that means my first choice, Puerto Penasco, Mexico, is off the table. Hmm. If I could live anywhere else in the country it would be San Diego, CA. Cool people, cool breezes, palm trees. What’s not to like?