Remembering Joe “JoBo” Bohannon
• RAMP joins the rest of the industry in mourning the untimely passing of a Chicago radio icon — Joe Bohannon, best known as the “JoBo” half of the long-running B96/Chicago morning duo Eddie & JoBo alongside Eddie Volkman, had died at the age of 70. No other details are known at this time. That’s Eddie (right) and JoBo (left) during their formative years at B96.
According to WGN-TV, police responded to Bohannon’s home in Freeport, IL on Monday and confirmed he had died, but did not provide a cause of death.
Eddie and JoBo first teamed up at B96 in 1988 and reigned in mornings until 1994, when they were fired. After a brief stint in Philadelphia, the guys were rehired at B96 in 1996 and remained there until Nov. 2008. Three years later — March 2011 — the guys reunited over on sister WJMK when the station dropped Adult Hits and flipped to Classic Hits as 104.3 K-Hits. That gig lasted until December 2012. In June 2014 the duo was hotly rumored to reunite yet again, this time on Cumulus Classic Hits WLS-FM, but the deal reportedly went south late in negotiations when Bohannon decided he didn’t want to return to radio.
As we speak, B96 is running this promo in memory of Bohannon: “B96 remembers and honors a legend — Joe ‘JoBo’ Bohannon. As half of the iconic Eddie & JoBo morning show, JoBo helped make this station what it is today. For years, he and Eddie brought laughter, energy, and real Chicago spirit to our airwaves. We celebrate his legacy — because once a part of B96, always a part of B96.”
Volkman, who currently hosts the Eddie V & Friends morning show on Connoisseur Media’s suburban Chicago Hot AC WSSR (Star 96.7)/Joliet, shared the following message with WGN News: “I only got the news from his family when I got home from work today. I am devastated and an emotional wreck. They are investigating and will have more to tell us tomorrow. Heaven gained a golden voice today.”
