About Jon Grayson
Overnight America with Jon Grayson
Weekdays 1-5 am
Jon Grayson began his career in talk radio at age 19 while still in college. In just three years, he'd 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, Fla. Jon honed his style through his early 20s and landed the evening talk show host position at WWTN-FM in Nashville, Tenn., at age 27. The show went quickly to No. 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, 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 9/11 terror attacks, hosted a new program documenting the lead-up to the war in Iraq, "Showdown With Saddam."
In 2006, Jon's career took an unexpected turn with an invitation by the U.S. 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.
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 Illinois Senator Paul Simon, actress Marion Ross, Dan Aykroyd, Eric Burdon of the Animals, James "The Amazing" Randi, Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies, Missouri Senator Kit Bond, movie special effects master Tom Savini, Doc Severinsen, composer Paul Williams and many more.
Jon is a native of Buffalo, N.Y., and spent a good part of his formative years in central Florida where he met his wife, Jennifer, when they both attended Tampa Catholic High. The pair have four sons, two dogs and a cat who rules the house with an iron paw. In his spare time Jon watches as much football and hockey as possible, plays guitar and works in the garage on his project car, a 1958 Plymouth that with any luck will see the road again sometime this decade.
