R.I.P. Chicago Radio Legend Herb Kent

Chicago Radio legend Herb Kent has died.

He was 88, according to CBS Local.

iHeartMedia, the parent company of WVAZ V103 102.7 FM, The Chicago R&B radio station where Mr. Kent, nicknamed “The Cool Gent,” spent 27 years on air, announced early Sunday that he died Saturday evening.

“No words can express our great sense of loss. Herb was an iconic talent, who for nearly 70 years entertained millions of listeners in Chicagoland and around the world,” Derrick Brown, director of urban programming at iHeartMedia Chicago  said on the station website Sunday.

The Chicago native was once a former instructor at Chicago State University, radio personality at WVON and earlier, WJJD. He was an active voice in the Chicago leg of the Civil Rights Movement who hosted a program alongside Stevie Wonder for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last visit to Chicago.

Mr. Kent’s nearly 70 years of experience in radio was celebrated this year as he was indicted into the National R&B Hall of Fame. Other inductees included Prince, Smokey Robinson, Fats Domino, Jimi Hendricks, Bobby Brown, Sam & Dave, among others.

In 1995 Mr. Kent was inducted into the Museum of Broadcasting’s Radio Hall of Fame. In Bronzeville, there’s a street named in his honor, “Herb Kent Drive.”

In a statement, Matt Scarano, region president of iHeartMedia Chicago said, “Herb leaves a legacy of thousands of entertainers he helped boost, community causes he impacted, and as a former instructor at Chicago State University, sharing his encyclopedic knowledge with hundreds of students. We are so thankful for the privilege of working alongside such an historic figure as Herb Kent for the past 27 years. Our thoughts and prayers are with Herb’s family, friends, and loved ones.”