“Jed The Fish” Gould, the influential Los Angeles radio DJ who lorded over KROQ-FM’s drivetime slot for 34 years, died Monday of lung cancer at his home. He was 69. The news was announced on his Instagram page and social media.
“The world lost one of its most unique and brilliant personalities,” the IG post reads in part. “The world will never be the same.”
Born Edwin Jed Fish Gould III on July 15, 1955, he joined the Pasadena-based KROQ in 1978 as its musical director while punk rock and new wave were gaining momentum. He moved to the night shift in 1979 and was a big part of the station’s “ROQ of the ’80s” push early in that decade. He moved to San Francisco in 1985 to join KQAK-FM for three months before doing a brief weekend stint at Bay Area rival station KRQR before returning to KROQ and taking over the afternoon-drive slot.
During his tenure, KROQ went from also-ran to influencer and leader in the busy L.A. rock radio market. He and the station embraced the changing rock landscape — while rivals including KMET, KLOS and KWST were playing what later in the decade would be labeled “classic rock” and heavy metal, KROQ focused on the burgeoning modern rock scene. Its “ROQ of the ’80s” format also spread, first in California at 91X San Diego and KQAK “The Quake” in San Francisco.
Rolling Stone readers named KROQ as Radio Station of the Year in 1992 and 1993.
Gould’s 1989 arrest on heroin charges made headlines, and he went into recovery treatment. He and ex-KROQ jocks Chuck Randall and April Whitney created a two-hour radio show called Clean and Crazy. “We wanted to remind people that you can still have fun and be creative, and be clean.”
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#jedthefish #rimpactx #dies #kroq #edwingould #jedthefish #ripjedthefish #classicdjmoments #musichistory #laradiolegend
“The world lost one of its most unique and brilliant personalities,” the IG post reads in part. “The world will never be the same.”
Born Edwin Jed Fish Gould III on July 15, 1955, he joined the Pasadena-based KROQ in 1978 as its musical director while punk rock and new wave were gaining momentum. He moved to the night shift in 1979 and was a big part of the station’s “ROQ of the ’80s” push early in that decade. He moved to San Francisco in 1985 to join KQAK-FM for three months before doing a brief weekend stint at Bay Area rival station KRQR before returning to KROQ and taking over the afternoon-drive slot.
During his tenure, KROQ went from also-ran to influencer and leader in the busy L.A. rock radio market. He and the station embraced the changing rock landscape — while rivals including KMET, KLOS and KWST were playing what later in the decade would be labeled “classic rock” and heavy metal, KROQ focused on the burgeoning modern rock scene. Its “ROQ of the ’80s” format also spread, first in California at 91X San Diego and KQAK “The Quake” in San Francisco.
Rolling Stone readers named KROQ as Radio Station of the Year in 1992 and 1993.
Gould’s 1989 arrest on heroin charges made headlines, and he went into recovery treatment. He and ex-KROQ jocks Chuck Randall and April Whitney created a two-hour radio show called Clean and Crazy. “We wanted to remind people that you can still have fun and be creative, and be clean.”
R ImpactX
#jedthefish #rimpactx #dies #kroq #edwingould #jedthefish #ripjedthefish #classicdjmoments #musichistory #laradiolegend
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NewsTranscript
00:00Jed the Fish. Gould dies. Influential KROQ DJ for 34 years. Was 69 Jed the Fish.
00:08Gould, the influential Los Angeles radio DJ who lorded over KROQ FM's drive time slot for 34 years,
00:15died Monday of lung cancer at his home. He was 69. The news was announced on his Instagram page
00:21and social media. The world lost one of its most unique and brilliant personalities.
00:26The IG post reads in part, the world will never be the same.
00:33Born Edwin Jed Fish Gould III on July 15, 1955, he joined the Pasadena-based KROQ in 1978 as its
00:41musical director, while punk rock and new wave were gaining momentum. He moved to the Night Shift in
00:471979 and was a big part of the station's ROQ of the 80s push early in that decade. He moved to San
00:54Francisco in 1985 to join KQAK FM for three months before doing a brief weekend stint at Bay Area
01:00rival station KRQR before returning to KROQ and taking over the afternoon drive slot.
01:06During his tenure, KROQ went from also-ran E to influencer and leader in the busy LA rock radio
01:12market. He and the station embraced the changing rock landscape, while rivals including KMET,
01:17KALOS and KWST were playing what later in the decade would be labeled classic rock and
01:22heavy metal KROQ focused on the burgeoning modern rock scene. Its ROQ of the 80s format also spread,
01:29first in California at 91X San Diego and KQAK The Quake in San Francisco.
01:35As the outlet listener base and cultural impact grew, Jed the Fish led the way. Funny, often snarky,
01:42and always listenable. He spun tracks from the likes of The Smiths and Depeche Mode, cementing
01:47those bands in particular as Los Angeles favorites before many other markets caught on. Those two in
01:52particular remain wildly popular in the City of Angels. One memorable moment came in 1994,
02:00as Green Day's breakout album Dookie was dominating the airwaves and charts. As the band's ubiquitous hit
02:05Basket Case began with, the lyric, Do you have the time to listen to me whine? Gould used the
02:11scratching vinyl sound effect, cut the record off, yelled, No, and moved on to the next song.
02:19The station's popularity and influence continued to expand during the 80s,
02:23and KROQ was bought by Infinity Broadcasting for a record $45 million in 1986.
02:28During the era, it also launched the careers of many other personalities, including Rodney
02:35Bingenheimer, whose Sunday night fixture Rodney on the ROQ was a sought-after spin for alternative
02:40bands. Dr. Drew Pinsky, Jim Porman Trenton, and later Adam Carolla and Kevin Ryder, and
02:48Gene Bean Baxter, aka Kevin and Bean Dot Rolling. Stone readers named KROQ as Radio Station of the Year
02:55in 1992 and 1993. Gould's 1989 arrest on heroin charges made headlines, and he went into recovery
03:02treatment. He and ex-KROQ jocks Chuck Randall and April Whitney created a two-hour radio,
03:09a show called Clean and Crazy. We wanted to remind people that you can still have fun and be creative,
03:14and be clean.