Herb Kent

Oh my goodness, what does Chicago music means to me? Growing up on the West Side of Chicago on a Sunday morning, if you walk down North Avenue, right, and you hear the music that comes out the doors of the buildings that are like next door to each other, you know? The liquor store has Herb Kent playing or some, some Herb Kent or some B103 joint popping off.

Then there's the storefront church singing about Jesus, and then there's the people upstairs talking about these last two dollars.

And then [laughs]

It's a style of vocal delivery that's unique to house music, and maybe it doesn't get the artistic recognition it deserves.

WVOL, the voice of the Negro.

I'm Herb Kent getting ready to jam like a big dog.

But Roland Clark didn't just step up to the microphone and everything spontaneously jumped out of his mouth.

This style has influences.

Uh, 10:16 at WLS, Joel Sebastian, Save the Country.

Herb Kent.

Go, go.

Power hit three, three.

Um, didn't get to hear them-

Yeah

... other than that really, except for the air checks of, uh, well, you heard s- you know, Herb Kent, the Smooth Gent, who really worked up un- up until the end.

I think he passed away in, like, 2015.

Okay.

Yeah, and they played it on WBON with Herb Kent.

Oh, yeah.

Herb Kent.

Cool jazz.

Yeah, yeah.