R.I.P.: Twin Cities Broadcaster Jack Moore Was 89

Colleagues and friends are mourning the passing of long-time Twin Cities Smooth Jazz radio pioneer Jack Moore.   He passed away December 19, 2012 at his home in New Brighton, MN. He was 89.

He was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting HOF in 2004.

According to his HOF bio, the distinguished career of Jack Moore is laced with equal parts innovation, creation and leadership––all while launching four major FM radio signals in the Twin Cities.

Moore began in radio at WPBC AM, where he not only hosted one of the first progressive music programs, but he also sold airtime and helped manage the station.

In 1961 he built and managed WAYL FM, and produced the first FM stereo broadcast between Chicago and the West Coast, working under great pressure to get on the air in time for a major exhibition on November 16, 1961.

He purchased KTWN 108 in 1978, upgrading its signal and developing “Smooth Jazz,” a format that Radio & Records called “the first pop jazz station ever launched.”

Moore launched the first Twin Cities-based cable radio in 1983, and in 1987 he created the market’s first satellite-delivered radio network, the Breeze Radio Network.

He founded CAFE 105 in the 1990s, using automated systems to bring it to profitability despite a small signal and limited promotional budget.

Moore earned  a Purple Heart, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and five Air Medals during World War II.

He was the father of a family of successful broadcasters and professionals.