Known for his three-decade tenure at WBGO in New York City, jazz radio host Rob Crocker passed away on March 7. Crocker was also a famed part of the Tokyo radio scene, where he introduced Japanese audiences to jazz during his live all-night radio show.
Crocker’s early aspirations in music were redirected towards broadcasting following injuries he sustained fighting in Vietnam. His radio career began in Europe before he made significant contributions to jazz, fusion, Latin, R&B, and dance music broadcasting in New York on stations like WRVR, WWRL, WBLS, KISS FM, and WQCD.
He played a crucial role in popularizing Brazilian music in NYC during the 1970s and joined WBGO in the early 1980s. He moved to Tokyo in the 1990s, where he started Night Moves, the first live all-night FM show in Japanese history. Moving back to NYC in the 2000s, he rejoined WBGO.
Throughout his career, Crocker not only celebrated jazz through radio but also produced jazz albums and live shows. His work earned him the Roy Wilkins Black History Month Award from the NAACP in 2020.
