Rick Dees

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Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the 1976 novelty song "Disco Duck". Dees is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated performing artist, and Broadcast Hall of Fame inductee.

He wrote two songs that appear in the film Saturday Night Fever, plus performed the title song for the film Meatballs.

He co-founded the E. W. Scripps television network Fine Living, now the Cooking Channel, and has hosted Rick Dees in the Morning at 102.7 KIIS FM and Hot 92.3 in Los Angeles.

Today he continues his own syndicated daily radio show, Daily Dees and the syndicated Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown.

Early life

Dees was born Rigdon Osmond Dees III in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 14, 1950. He was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. Dees graduated from Greensboro's Grimsley High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in motion pictures, TV, and radio.

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Career

While still in high school, Dees started his radio work at WGBG, a Greensboro radio station. He worked with numerous radio stations in the Southeast United States, including WXYC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama, and WKIX in Raleigh, North Carolina.

While working in Memphis, Tennessee, during the discocracy of the mid-to-late-1970s, he wrote and recorded "Disco Duck," which sold more than 6 million copies. In a brief scene in which a group of elderly people was learning to "move their feet to the disco beat," the song can be heard in Saturday Night Fever. Although his platinum recording won him a People's Choice Award for Favorite New Song and the BMI Award for the first year, Dees was expressly barred from performing the song on air by station executives (rival stations refused to participate in the event for fear of promoting their competition). When he said that his album, "Disco Duck," was almost number one, and his own radio station would not allow him to listen, Deees was fired from WMPS. It was a matter of mutual interest, according to the station's chief. Since he could not "talk like a duck," Dees did not perform the authentic duck vocals on the album. Ken Pruitt, who moved away before the song became famous, and the duck vocals were performed by Michael Chesney of Memphis, Tennessee. Before Disco Duck, Chesney had performed some comedic voices for Dees. The tour went from Disney World to New York, NY, under the name of Rick Deees and The Cast of Idiots. Dees was hired by RKO Radio to do the morning show at WHBQ AM 560 in Memphis after a 45-day non-compete clause in his deal was fulfilled.

93KHJ AM's success at Dees' Memphis radio station, along with his TV appearances and hit music, compelled station owner RKO General to give Rick the morning radio show in Los Angeles. Although dees boosted their numbers, AM radio was quickly losing ground to FM. When KHJ switched to country music, Dees left KHJ, beginning his career as a morning host at KIIS-FM in July 1981. He converted KIIS-FM into America's top revenue-producing radio station in a short time, with an asset value approaching half a billion dollars.

On the weekend of October 8–9, 1983, he launched his Weekly Top 40 countdown service, which is now in syndication; after Dees' station KIIS suspended the American Top 40 in a controversy over network commercials, he launched the show. Each weekend, the Weekly Top 40 has been seen in over 200 countries around the world, as well as the Armed Forces Radio Network. Compass Media Networks and Deees Entertainment International International distribute it domestically and internationally by Radio Express. The Weekly Top 40 became China's first English-speaking radio show in December 2008. The syndicated Countdown is available in several different editions, including Hit Radio (for modern hit radio stations), Hot Adult (hot adult contemporary radio stations), 1980s Edition (for terrestrial radio stations around the world).

Dees was left homeless on radio station KIIS-FM in February 2004, with no official explanation, and Ryan Seacrest took his place. In August 2006, Dees returned to Los Angeles radio, on KMVN, Movin 93.9, as the morning show was hosted by Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and Mark Wong. After a long-leasing of the station to Mexico City company Grupo Radio Centro, Movin 93.9 canceled its radio personalities and changed the station's style to Spanish contemporary music on April 15, 2009. Dees was one of the few voices on the radio before the flop, redirecting listeners of his show to RICK.COM. Following the station's formatting change to a Gold-based Rhythmic AC on April 20, 2011, Dees returned for the second time, this time at KIIS' sister station KHHT. He appeared at KHHT for a year.

Dees' Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown is still available in the United States, on terrestrial radio stations and streaming, making it the longest running countdown devoted to pop music in the world. He also appears on the syndicated Daily Dees daily show. Rick can be heard live in the Hawaiian islands on 96.1.

Dees has been given many awards, including the Marconi Award, inducting into both the National Radio Hall of Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame. In 1984, he received a Grammy Award nomination for his comedy album Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks, and has since been named in the Grammy Governor's Award. I'm Not Crazy, Rick Dees Greatest Hit (The White Album), and Put It Where The Moon Don't Shine have all enjoyed worldwide success. He has been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame, for ten years, has been named in the People's Choice Award for ten years, and has been named on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Dees hosted his own late-night program on ABC television in the early 1990s, Into the Night Starring Rick Dees, which lasted for one season but was cancelled due to poor ratings. He has appeared on Roseanne, Married... with Children, Cheers, Diagnosis: Murder, and numerous other hit shows. In addition, Dees appeared on Paramount Television's syndicated series Solid Gold, and his voice has appeared on numerous animated films, including The Flintstones, where he appeared as Rock Dees and Jetsons: The Movie, where he sang Rocket Rick.

Rick Dees appeared in La Bamba as the legendary Ted Quillin, the Los Angeles disc jockey who helped launch Ritchie Valens' career.

In the Family Guy episode "La Fia Guy," Rick Dees provided Peter Griffin's portrayal of him.

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