Tom Kent
Encyclopedia
- For other persons named Thomas Kent, see Thomas KentThomas Kent (disambiguation)Thomas Kent may refer to:*Thomas Kent *Thomas Kent Irish rebel executed in 1916*Thomas Worrall Kent Canadian public servant and journalist*Tom Kent disc jockey*Tom Kent , England and British Isles rugby union player...
Tom Kent (born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
),is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio personality. As the head of the Tom Kent Radio Network, he hosts 105 hours of classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
programming each week, which, as of February 2, 2009, is distributed through Cumulus Media Networks.
Biography
Prior to becoming syndicated, Kent worked on the air and in programming at top 40 radio stations WLSWLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he was not only a high profile air talent on the station but was also programming assistant to John Gehron. Kent also worked on the air at KLIF
KLIF
KLIF is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Dallas, Texas, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. KLIF broadcasts a conservative-leaning news/talk radio format to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.-Call sign history:...
in Dallas, WIBG Philadelphia, WGCL and WIXY in Cleveland, WMJX in Miami, WAVA in Washington, DC where he was also the Program Director and WBZZ (B-94) Pittsburgh.
In addition, Kent worked in the music industry as a promotion executive for Elektra Entertainment, which was a division of Time-Warner's Warner Music Group. While an executive at Elektra, Kent received many awards including "Promotion Rookie of the Year" and "Promotion Executive of the Year" both separate and individual awards in different years. He helped break and bring to the national music spotlight national music recording super star artists Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
, Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...
, Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat is an American R&B/soul, singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality and a major contributor to the new jack swing era.-Music career:...
, Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
, Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
, Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
, Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert
Gerald Levert was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams is an American Grammy- and Dove-award-winning Yolanda Adams is an American [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]]- and [[Dove Awards|Dove]]-award-winning...
, and En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
.
Founding the TKO Radio Network
On June 29, 2002, Kent, launched the Tom Kent Organization and its radio network, the TKO Radio Network. It was here that Kent launched what was then oldiesOldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
programming, centered around the decades of 1964 to 1973. Drawing on inspiration from classic Top 40 disc jockeys, Kent's goal was to create a broad-based persona that, while still appealing to the "adult power demo" (persons 25 to 54, many of whom listened to Top 40 radio at a young age), would be enjoyed by all ages. During this time, Kent created and hosted the programs "Into the Seventies," a five-hour weekly program devoted to 1970s music, and "Hall of Fame Coast to Coast", a general six-day-a-week oldies program. The programming was immensely successful and significantly boosted ratings on the stations it aired. In 2006, Kent turned the network into the "Classic Top 40" network, renaming the weeknight show from "Hall of Fame Coast to Coast" to "Classic Top 40 Weeknights." The long term goal was to create a 24-hour network out of this with similar programming.
Exactly five years after Kent launched the network, on June 29, 2007, he resigned as host and sold the company. The company continued operations through at least 2010 without Kent; its current status is unknown.
Departure and founding of Tom Kent Radio Network
On March 16, 2008, Kent launched a new network, the Tom Kent Radio Network. The initial offerings of the new network are featuring Tom Kent's shows which are being offered 24/7. The network is planning on introducing live shows hosted by other personalities in the future. Programs hosted by Kent include a five hour totally live daily show called, "Tom Kent" as well as two different weekend shows: "The Ultimate Party" (a live five hour Saturday evening party show) and "My 70s Show" (a five hour 70s show). The new network has already begun building a lineup of stations across the country, many of whom also carried his previous offerings. Shows on the new network are live and target adults 25-54. The new Tom Kent Radio Network now reports more than 225 new affiliates since its launch on 3/16/08 including CBS owned and operated station WOMCWOMC
WOMC is a Classic Hits radio station broadcasting in the Detroit, Michigan, USA area. WOMC's transmitter and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan. WOMC broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 190,000 watts from an antenna height of 361 feet...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
Lincoln Financial owned and operated WMXJ
WMXJ
WMXJ is an oldies/classic hits music formatted radio station that broadcasts from Miami Gardens, Florida. The station is owned by Lincoln Financial Media, which was previously known as Jefferson-Pilot Communications.-History:...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.CBS owned and operated KLUV in Dallas, Clear Channel owned and operated WMJI
WMJI
WMJI — branded Majic 105.7 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio broadcasting a classic hits format. The station serves Cleveland, Akron and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio....
in Cleveland, CBS owned and operated WODS
WODS
- External links :****...
in Boston, CBS owned and operated KOOL
Kool
Kool may refer to:* Kool , a brand of cigarettes* Kool & The Gang, a 1970s R&B and Funk band* Kool, a 2011 Kannada language film-Broadcasting:*KOOL-FM, a radio station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States...
in Phoenix, CBS owned and operated KLTH
KLTH
KLTH is an Oldies/Classic Hits formatted radio station located in the Portland, Oregon, area and broadcasts at 106.7 FM. KLTH's studios are located in downtown Portland and its transmitter is located in Portland's west hills...
in Portland and CBS owned and operated WRBQ
WRBQ
WRBQ-FM is a commercial classic hits music formatted radio station in Tampa, Florida.-History:Formerly WPKM and later WEZX, 104.7 switched to a rock ’n roll format as Q105 in December 1973, home to the Q-Morning Zoo, Cleveland Wheeler, Scott Shannon, Dave Saint, Jack Harris, Bill Garcia, Uncle...
in Tampa, CBS owned and Operated WLIF
WLIF
WLIF is a radio station located in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is currently owned and operated by CBS Radio. Its studios are located in the Mount Washington section of Baltimore, while its transmitter is located two miles northeast in Hampton, Maryland...
in Baltimore.
On March 16, 2010, exactly two years after launching the network, Kent launched two new shows. "Your Live Request Show" which is a daily lunch or drive time live request hour that also doubles as a five hour weekend show. The other "show" is a voice-tracking
Voice-tracking
Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio studios of the station when one is not actually...
system identified as "C.L.A.S.S." (an acronym for customized linked automatic system solution). This program is a new show that links Tom Kent's personality in with a local station's music opening the door for TKRN programming for all English speaking music formats all over the world.
On October 27, 2010, The Tom Kent Radio Network launched "LOVIN' LIFE LIVIN THE 80's" with 23 new stations including CHICAGO, COLORADO SPRINGS, and ORLANDO. The program is five hours in length and is being delivered via satellite for weekend programming at radio or a one hour daily feature. It celebrates the pop, the rock and the soul hits of the 1980's and his hosted by Tom Kent.
On April 18, 2011, The Tom Kent Radio Network launched a 24 hour Classic Hits network called "24/7 FUN" It's first affiliate is Kirkman Broadcasting's WWIK FM 98.9 in Charleston, SC. At 6a on that day, WWIK switched from a Hot AC called "Chick FM" to "24/7 FUN" using the moniker "FUN 98-9" The network features Bill Shannon in the morning, Steve Kent mid-days and Tom Kent on afternoons and nights. All three personalities are also covering weekend shifts.
Kent entered into a distribution deal with Citadel Media (now Cumulus Media Networks) in February 2009, replacing the departing Dick Bartley.
Personal life
Kent lives in suburban Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
with his wife, three kids and two dogs. Kent and his family moved back to Cleveland in 1988 and have lived there since. His son, Steve Kent, fills in on occasion for him on the air and his wife Karen works behind the scenes at the company and makes occasional on-air appearances.