Jed the Fish, the long-time KROQ DJ who helped define the “ROQ of the ‘80s” era, died on Monday.
“Jed the Fish passed peacefully away in his beloved home and the world will never be the same,” a statement posted on his Instagram page read.
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According to Variety, he died from lung cancer.
Born Edwin Jed Gould, he was a fixture at KROQ, where he served as afternoon host for more than 30 years and hosted the syndicated show “Out of Order.” He joined the station in 1978 and was part of the alt-rock scene, playing The Smiths, Depeche Mode, and Green Day before most others did.
On his LinkedIn page, Gould described his time at KROQ as “the core of my radio experience.”
“Looking back, it's plain the influence of this powerhouse reached beyond radio,” he wrote. “TV, movies and now the sorts of attitudes and intensities displayed online owe much of their processes to KROQ. I just realized that as profound as the KHJ legacy is, it did not span generations. Any music lover who grew up in SoCal will tell you KROQ was their buddy for much or most of their lives. You can tell I now take pride in what I did. But I really tried not to while I was doing it.”
He was named Billboard’s Modern Rock Personality of the Year in 1997 and 1998 and was also Radio & Records Local Modern Rock Personality of the Year in 1998, according to LA Radio.
After leaving KROQ in 2012, he worked at KCSN 88.5 in Northridge until September 2024. Gould worked at KCSN until 2018 and then had a brief stint at KLOS in Los Angeles, City News Service reported.
Gould was 69 years old.
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