“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 Gould 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.
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As the outlet listener base and cultural impact grew, Jed the Fish led the way. Funny, often snarky and always listenable, he spun tracks from the likes of The Smiths and Depeche Mode — cementing those bands in particular as Los Angeles favorites before many other markets caught on. Those two in particular remain wildly popular in the City of Angels.
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