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'''Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III''' (born [[March 14]], [[1950]] in Jacksonville, Florida) is Los Angeles, California-based radio disc jockey, host of the internationally-syndicated "Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown", and a musician, best known for his [[1976]] novelty hit "[[Disco Duck]]". He hosted the morning drive show on [[Birmingham]]'s [[WSGN-AM]] from [[1973]] to [[1974]].
'''Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III''' (born [[March 14]], [[1950]] in Jacksonville, Florida) is Los Angeles, California-based radio disc jockey, host of the internationally-syndicated "Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown", and a musician, best known for his [[1976]] novelty hit "Disco Duck". He hosted the morning drive show on [[Birmingham]]'s [[WSGN-AM]] from [[1973]] to [[1974]].


Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Dees was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Grimsley High School there while also working at WGBG-AM. He earned a bachelor's degree in radio, TV, and motion pictures from the University of North Carolina and also continued working at WXYC-FM in Chapel Hill before coming to Birmingham.
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Dees was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Grimsley High School there while also working at WGBG-AM. He earned a bachelor's degree in radio, TV, and motion pictures from the University of North Carolina and also continued working at WXYC-FM in Chapel Hill before coming to Birmingham.
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Dees' dual roles as Top-40 DJ and Top-40 musician introduced a conflict of interest. WMPS executives forbid him from playing the single and fired him when he complained about it on the air. Other stations in Memphis also blacklisted the single for fear of promoting their competitor. Meanwhile Dees' former rivals in Birmingham were required to play the hit on regular rotation. After a 45-day non-compete clause in his contract expired, Dees took a job with WHBQ-AM in Memphis.
Dees' dual roles as Top-40 DJ and Top-40 musician introduced a conflict of interest. WMPS executives forbid him from playing the single and fired him when he complained about it on the air. Other stations in Memphis also blacklisted the single for fear of promoting their competitor. Meanwhile Dees' former rivals in Birmingham were required to play the hit on regular rotation. After a 45-day non-compete clause in his contract expired, Dees took a job with WHBQ-AM in Memphis.


WHBQ's owners, RKO General, offered him the morning slot at their Los Angeles station, 93KHJ-AM. He left in July [[1981]] when the station switched to a country format and helped build KIIS-FM into a powerhouse station, debuting his Weekly Top 40 countdown program in September [[1983]] when the station lost the rights to air American Top 40. Dees was named "Radio Personality of the Year" by ''Billboard'' magazine for ten consecutive years.
WHBQ's owners, RKO General, offered him the morning slot at their Los Angeles station, 93KHJ-AM. He left in July [[1981]] when the station switched to a country format and helped build KIIS-FM into a powerhouse station, debuting his Weekly Top 40 countdown program in September [[1983]] when the station lost the rights to air American Top 40. Dees was named "Radio Personality of the Year" by ''Billboard'' magazine for ten consecutive years. His comedy album, "Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks," garnered a Grammy nomination in [[1984]].


<!--After 23 years on radio station KIIS-FM, Dees left in 2004 because of a contract dispute, and he was replaced by [[Ryan Seacrest]]. Dees returned to Los Angeles radio in August 2006 on [[KXOS|KMVN]], Movin 93.9, hosting the morning show along with Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and [[Mark Wong]]. On April 15, 2009, Movin 93.9 changed format, dismissing its radio personalities and changing the format to [[Spanish language|Spanish]] Contemporary or Spanish Hits. Dees has continued his ''Weekly Top 40'' show each week and has hosted ''The Daily Dees'', a four-hour midday show, Monday through Friday on stations across the United States. From May 4, 2011, until July 6, 2012, Dees hosted the morning show at R&B oldies station (and sister station of KIIS-FM) KHHT, "Hot 92.3" in Los Angeles, as well as his national daily program "The Daily Dees" syndicated by Dial Global.
ABC aired the late-night television program "Into the Night Starring Rick Dees" for one season in the early 1990s. He also hosted "Solid Gold" for a while and guest starred on programs such as "Roseanne", "Married... with Children", "Cheers", and "Diagnosis: Murder". He also portrayed DJ Ted Quillin in the Richie Valens biopic ''La Bamba'' and provided voices in the film versions of "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons". He was a co-founder of the former "Fine Living Network" owned by E. W. Scripps.


Throughout his long career, Dees has garnered many accolades, including the Marconi Award, the [[National Radio Hall of Fame]], and his induction into 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 received the Grammy Governor's Award. His other comedy albums – ''I'm Not Crazy'', ''Rick Dees' Greatest Hit (The White Album)'', and ''Put It Where The Moon Don't Shine'' have also enjoyed worldwide success. He is an inductee in the North Carolina Broadcast Hall Of Fame, has received the [[People's Choice Award]] and has been awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].
Dees left KIIS-FM in [[2004]] and was replaced by Ryan Seacrest. He returned to the air in August [[2006]] on KMVN-FM, co-hosting a morning show with Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and Mark Wong until April [[2009]] when the station switched to a Spanish language format. Dees continued to produce his syndicated shows, including two versions of the "Weekly Top 40" for pop and adult contemporary audiences, and "The Daily Dees", which airs mid-days Monday through Friday. He returned to KIIS-FM in a simulcast arrangement with sister-station KHHT-FM, from May [[2011]] to July [[2012]].


Rick Dees is also on the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Dees is a recipient of the Marconi Award and the Grammy Governor's Award. He has been inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Broadcast Hall of Fame. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and serves on the nominating committee for the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.


== Movies and television ==
Outside of broadcasting, Dees raises cattle and crops on his central Kentucky farm. His hobbies include water skiing, golf and making pastries. He and his wife, comedian Julie McWhirter, live in Los Angeles and have one son, Kevin.
In television, Dees hosted his own late-night show on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television network in the early 1990s, ''Into the Night Starring Rick Dees'', which ran for one season and was canceled due to low ratings. He has guest-starred on ''[[Roseanne (TV series)|Roseanne]]'', ''[[Married... with Children]]'', ''[[Cheers]]'', ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'' and many other hit shows. In addition, Dees hosted the popular syndicated series, ''[[Solid Gold (TV series)|Solid Gold]]'', from Paramount Television, and his voice has been enjoyed on numerous animated features, including [[The Flintstones (film)|''The Flintstones'']], where he starred as Rock Dees, and ''[[Jetsons: The Movie]]'', where he played Rocket Rick.
 
In feature films, Rick Dees had a minor role in ''[[La Bamba (film)|La Bamba]]'', portraying [[Ted Quillin]], the [[Los Angeles]] [[disc jockey]] who helped launch Ritchie Valens's career.
 
== Further interests ==
Outside of his radio career Dees has become a businessman and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder  of the now defunct [[Fine Living Network]], the lifestyle cable and television satellite network in partnership with [[E. W. Scripps]] Networks. He is also the founder of DDN – The Dees Digital Network.
 
Dees is a farmer, raising both crops and cattle in central [[Kentucky]]. He loves water skiing and golf. He even caddied at the [[Masters Tournament|Masters]] in [[Augusta, Georgia]], for [[Mark O'Meara]]. Rick is also an ardent pastry chef, who loves to bake anything with chocolate.
 
Dees is active in [[Young Life]],{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} a Christian organization serving areas that have limited or no Christian influence. Dees is also a participant in the [[Boy Scouts of America]], having earned the rank of [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]] himself at age 15.
 
Dees currently resides in Los Angeles with his comedienne/impressionist wife, [[Julie McWhirter]]. Rick and Julie have a son, Kevin (who is also the segment co-host of the ''Weekly Top 40'' show).
 
== Controversy ==
In 1984, Dees (and his record company) made a request of Marvin Fisher, the owner of the copyright in the music of the song "When Sunny Gets Blue", for permission to use the song in a [[parody]] of the performance by [[Johnny Mathis]]. Fisher refused to grant permission for the use. Dees decided to go ahead and do a parody even without the permission of the copyright holder, using about 29 seconds of the song in a parody album titled ''Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine''.
 
Fisher sued Dees for [[copyright infringement]]. The trial court found that the [[parody]] song, titled "When Sonny Sniffs Glue," was clearly intended to "poke fun" at the style of singing for which Johnny Mathis was well known, and thus was not infringing. The decision was upheld on appeal, in ''[[Fisher v. Dees]]'' [[Court citation|794 F.2d 432]] (9th Cir. 1986)-->


==Discography==
==Discography==
*1976 – ''The Original Disco Duck''
* Dees, Rick (1976) ''The Original Disco Duck''
*1983 – ''Hurt Me Baby, Make Me Write Bad Checks''
* Dees, Rick (1983) ''Hurt Me Baby, Make Me Write Bad Checks''
*1984 – ''Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine''
* Dees, Rick (1984) ''Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine''
*1985 – ''I'm Not Crazy''
* Dees, Rick (1985) ''I'm Not Crazy''
*<span style="visibility:hidden;display:none">1985</span> – ''Rick Dees' Greatest Hit (The White Album)'' (Macola Record Co., MRC 0971)
* Dees, Rick (1985) ''Rick Dees' Greatest Hit (The White Album)''. Macola Record Co. MRC-0971
*1996 – ''Spousal Arousal''
* Dees, Rick (1996) ''Spousal Arousal''


==References==
==References==
*  
* "[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rick_Dees Rick Dees]" (February 17, 2014) Wikipedia - accessed March 3, 2014


==External links==
==External links==
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:DJs]]
[[Category:DJs]]
[[Category:National Radio Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Vocalists]]
[[Category:Vocalists]]
[[Category:Television personalities]]
[[Category:Eagle Scouts]]
[[Category:Eagle Scouts]]

Revision as of 15:34, 3 March 2014

Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III (born March 14, 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida) is Los Angeles, California-based radio disc jockey, host of the internationally-syndicated "Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown", and a musician, best known for his 1976 novelty hit "Disco Duck". He hosted the morning drive show on Birmingham's WSGN-AM from 1973 to 1974.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Dees was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Grimsley High School there while also working at WGBG-AM. He earned a bachelor's degree in radio, TV, and motion pictures from the University of North Carolina and also continued working at WXYC-FM in Chapel Hill before coming to Birmingham.

Dees' morning drive program at WSGN was the city's top-rated show in that time-slot, but was eclipsed by the upstart WERC-AM. Dees went on to WKIX-FM in Raleigh, North Carolina and WMPS-AM in Memphis, Tennessee. While there in 1976 he wrote and produced the novelty song "Disco Duck" with Donald Duck-inspired vocals by Ken Pruitt. The unexpected hit which sold six-million singles, won a People's Choice award, and made a cameo in John Badham's 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever". Dees eventually went on tour as "Rick Dees and The Cast of Idiots" to promote the song. Michael Chesney took Pruitt's place as vocalist for Disco Duck.

Dees' dual roles as Top-40 DJ and Top-40 musician introduced a conflict of interest. WMPS executives forbid him from playing the single and fired him when he complained about it on the air. Other stations in Memphis also blacklisted the single for fear of promoting their competitor. Meanwhile Dees' former rivals in Birmingham were required to play the hit on regular rotation. After a 45-day non-compete clause in his contract expired, Dees took a job with WHBQ-AM in Memphis.

WHBQ's owners, RKO General, offered him the morning slot at their Los Angeles station, 93KHJ-AM. He left in July 1981 when the station switched to a country format and helped build KIIS-FM into a powerhouse station, debuting his Weekly Top 40 countdown program in September 1983 when the station lost the rights to air American Top 40. Dees was named "Radio Personality of the Year" by Billboard magazine for ten consecutive years. His comedy album, "Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks," garnered a Grammy nomination in 1984.

ABC aired the late-night television program "Into the Night Starring Rick Dees" for one season in the early 1990s. He also hosted "Solid Gold" for a while and guest starred on programs such as "Roseanne", "Married... with Children", "Cheers", and "Diagnosis: Murder". He also portrayed DJ Ted Quillin in the Richie Valens biopic La Bamba and provided voices in the film versions of "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons". He was a co-founder of the former "Fine Living Network" owned by E. W. Scripps.

Dees left KIIS-FM in 2004 and was replaced by Ryan Seacrest. He returned to the air in August 2006 on KMVN-FM, co-hosting a morning show with Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and Mark Wong until April 2009 when the station switched to a Spanish language format. Dees continued to produce his syndicated shows, including two versions of the "Weekly Top 40" for pop and adult contemporary audiences, and "The Daily Dees", which airs mid-days Monday through Friday. He returned to KIIS-FM in a simulcast arrangement with sister-station KHHT-FM, from May 2011 to July 2012.

Dees is a recipient of the Marconi Award and the Grammy Governor's Award. He has been inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Broadcast Hall of Fame. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and serves on the nominating committee for the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Outside of broadcasting, Dees raises cattle and crops on his central Kentucky farm. His hobbies include water skiing, golf and making pastries. He and his wife, comedian Julie McWhirter, live in Los Angeles and have one son, Kevin.

Discography

  • Dees, Rick (1976) The Original Disco Duck
  • Dees, Rick (1983) Hurt Me Baby, Make Me Write Bad Checks
  • Dees, Rick (1984) Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine
  • Dees, Rick (1985) I'm Not Crazy
  • Dees, Rick (1985) Rick Dees' Greatest Hit (The White Album). Macola Record Co. MRC-0971
  • Dees, Rick (1996) Spousal Arousal

References

  • "Rick Dees" (February 17, 2014) Wikipedia - accessed March 3, 2014

External links

Retrieved from "http://bhamwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Rick_Dees&oldid=101209"