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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Herb Kent, who passed away at the age of
488; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Herb Kent was born on October 5, 1928 and was
6raised on Chicago's South Side, where he received early musical
7inspiration from the rhythm and blues clubs that dotted his
8neighborhood; he often stood outside the windows of these clubs
9listening to the tunes being played inside; and
 
10    WHEREAS, As a young teen, Herb Kent became involved in
11drama workshops and studied classical music at Hyde Park High
12School; in 1944, at the age of 16, he hosted a classical music
13program for the prestigious WBEZ Radio station; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Herb Kent hosted radio shows on several stations
15in Chicago; though each station had a platform and a format of
16its own, his style of humor, critique, and banter was
17immediately recognizable to his loyal listeners, no matter what
18station broadcast his shows; one of his most infamous stints
19was with WVON Radio between 1962 and 1970; many members of the
20broadcasting community have stated that he greatly helped to
21launch the careers of such R & B artists as The Temptations,
22Minnie Ripperton, Curtis Mayfield, and Smokey Robinson because

 

 

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1of his enthusiastic, on-air embrace of their music; and
 
2    WHEREAS, During his broadcast on WVON, Herb Kent became
3widely known as the "Voice of the People" for Chicago's South
4Side, the spokesperson for local African-Americans; he became
5known widely as "Herb Kent, the Cool Gent", and even served as
6producer for an R & B group named The Cool Gents; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Herb Kent was the recipient of many awards and
8recognitions, including an induction into the Museum of
9Broadcast Communications Radio Hall of Fame in 1995; in 1996,
10he witnessed the official dedication of a street on Chicago's
11South Side in his honor: "Herb Kent Drive"; he was also
12recognized by the dedication of a United States postal stamp
13bearing his image, which was included in the 1998 "Golden Days
14of Radio" series, and was named the Honorary Mayor of
15Bronzeville by the citizens of that South Side community the
16following year; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
18ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his
19family and friends, mourn the passing of Herb Kent; and be it
20further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22presented to the family of Herb Kent as an expression of our

 

 

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1sympathy.