By Erick Johnson
WVON colleagues and listeners are stunned and saddened after popular WVON Alpheus “Insane Ywain” Fields died from a heart attack at his home on Saturday night, May 18. He was 57.
Fields was host of “The B-Sides” on WVON.
Few details are available about Field’s death. WVON Gospel Host Pam Morris dedicated her Sunday morning show to Fields.
According to his Facebook page, Fields was born in Chicago and graduated from Mendel Catholic School in 1979. He graduated from Illinois State in 1982. After getting his degree, Fields started working at WVON. He had been with the station since then.
Throughout his 36-year career at WVON, Fields has served in many capacities in t he company’ s programming depart ment, before landing the coveted role of overnight jock, and host of ” The B Sides”. He held the position for eight years until the time of his death.
In a press release Monday, Melody Spann Cooper, Chairman of Midway Broadcasting Corporation, said “Fields’ talent, creativity and strong connectivity to music and the church, led him to his first on-air position as a gospel music personality where he excelled because of his musicality and close connection to local churches where he often worked as lead musician. Fields was a self-taught pianist.”
Funeral arrangements are pending. He is survived by three children, his mother and brother, Reverend Cy Fields, Pastor of Landmark Baptist Church in Chicago.
