Across five decades, Tom Kent could be heard on radio stations in various locales across the U.S., with a resumé that included one-time Top 40 giants and a collection of affiliates to his Tom Kent Radio Network.
Now, many are pausing to celebrate the life of the air personality who also dabbled in recording industry promotions work, as Kent has died of cancer at the age of 69.
Known in more recent years for his “crusade to end boring radio,” Kent enjoyed stints at WLS-AM 890 in Chicago, which he joined in 1980 at the peak of its Top 40 dominance in the Midwest. He’s also held airshifts in Miami at WMJX “96X” (he was the nighttime host under then-Program Director Joel Denver in the late 1970s) and, decades later, at WMXJ “Majic 102.7.” Interestingly, Kent is also an alumni of WAVA/Washington in its Top 40 era; Randy Kabrich, who unexpectedly died earlier this year, had previously spent time at WAVA in its mid-1980s incarnation.
While Kent first gained recognition for his on-air work, he’d later serve as a promotion executive for Warner Music Group’s Elektra Entertainment. There, he helped the careers of such iconic acts as Tracy Chapman, Third Eye Blind, and Missy Elliott.
In 2002, Kent founded the TKO Radio Network; in 2007 he’d sell that enterprise, forming the Tom Kent Radio Network.
Kent is survived by his wife, Karen, and two children, Steven and Jackie.
