Rick Dees facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rick Dees
Dees in 1986
Born	Rigdon Osmond Dees III (1950-03-14) March 14, 1950 (age 75) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Grimsley High School University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Occupation	Radio personality, entertainer, comedic performer
Known for	Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Disco Duck La Bamba
Spouse(s)	Carolyn R Craft ​ (m. 1973⁠–⁠1977)​ Julie McWhirter ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	Kevin Dees

Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), known to most as Rick Dees, is a famous American entertainer. He is a radio host, comedian, actor, and voice artist. Rick Dees is especially famous for his radio show, The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown. This show is heard by millions of people around the world. He is also known for his fun and silly song from 1976, "Disco Duck".

Rick Dees has won many awards, including a People's Choice Award. He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his music. He is a member of the Broadcast Hall of Fame. Rick Dees sang the main song for the movie Meatballs. He also helped start a TV network called Fine Living, which is now the Cooking Channel. He hosted morning radio shows in Los Angeles for many years. Today, he still hosts his daily radio show, Daily Dees, and the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown.

Early Life and Education

Rick Dees was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 14, 1950. His full name is Rigdon Osmond Dees III. He grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Rick went to Grimsley High School in Greensboro. After high school, he studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned a degree in motion pictures, TV, and radio.

Rick Dees' Career

Radio Career

Rick Dees started working in radio while he was still in high school. His first job was at a radio station in Greensboro, North Carolina called WGBG. He then worked at different radio stations across the southeastern United States. These included stations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

His big break came when he worked at WMPS AM 680 in Memphis, Tennessee. This was during the popular disco music era in the 1970s.

"Disco Duck" Song

In 1976, Rick Dees wrote and recorded the song "Disco Duck". This song became a huge hit, selling over six million copies. You can even hear a short part of the song in the movie Saturday Night Fever.

Even though his song was very popular, Rick was not allowed to play it on his own radio station. The station managers thought it was a conflict of interest. Rick was even fired from WMPS because he talked about his song being number one. He didn't do the duck voice himself; another person named Ken Pruitt recorded it. Later, Michael Chesney did the duck voice for concert tours.

After leaving WMPS, Rick Dees moved to another Memphis station, WHBQ AM 560.

Moving to Los Angeles Radio

Rick's success in Memphis led to a big opportunity in Los Angeles. He was offered a morning radio show at KHJ (AM). He helped improve their ratings, but AM music radio was becoming less popular than FM radio.

In 1981, Rick Dees moved to KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. He quickly made KIIS-FM the top-earning radio station in America.

Weekly Top 40 Countdown

Rick started his famous Weekly Top 40 countdown show in October 1983. It began on 18 radio stations. This show was created after his station, KIIS, stopped playing another popular countdown show.

The Weekly Top 40 has been broadcast every weekend in over 200 countries. It is also heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network. In 2008, it became the first English-speaking radio show to air in China. The show has different versions, including "Hit Radio" for pop music and "Hot Adult" for adult contemporary stations. There are also 80s and 90s editions.

Rick left KIIS-FM in 2004 after 23 years. He returned to Los Angeles radio in 2006 on KMVN, Movin 93.9. In 2009, that station changed its format to Spanish music. Rick told his listeners to visit his website, RICK.COM. In 2011, he returned to another Los Angeles station, KHHT, for about a year.

Today, Rick Dees still hosts his Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown around the world. It is the longest-running pop music countdown show. He also hosts the Daily Dees show. You can hear him live every morning in Hawaii on Kohala Radio KNKR 96.1 FM.

Awards and Recognition

Rick Dees has received many awards for his radio work. He won the Marconi Award and is in both the National Radio Hall of Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame.

In 1984, his comedy album Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks was nominated for a Grammy Award. He later received the Grammy Governor's Award. His other comedy albums, like I'm Not Crazy, have also been very successful.

He is also in the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame and the Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame. Billboard magazine named him Radio Personality Of The Year for 10 years in a row. He has a People's Choice Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Films and Television

Rick Dees has also had a career in television and movies. In the early 1990s, he hosted his own late-night show on the ABC network called Into the Night Starring Rick Dees.

He has appeared as a guest on many popular TV shows. These include Roseanne, Married... with Children, and Diagnosis: Murder. Rick also hosted the TV series Solid Gold.

His voice has been used in several animated movies. He was Rock Dees in The Flintstones and Rocket Rick in Jetsons: The Movie.

In the movie La Bamba, Rick Dees played a real-life Los Angeles disc jockey named Ted Quillin. Ted helped start the music career of Ritchie Valens. Rick's voice was also heard as a radio DJ in the opening of the 1983 film Valley Girl.

In 2020, Rick Dees voiced a character in an episode of Family Guy called "La Famiglia Guy".

Music Albums

Rick Dees has released several music and comedy albums:

• 1976 – The Original Disco Duck
• 1981 – Gift Rappin'
• 1983 – Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks
• 1984 – Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine
• 1985 – I'm Not Crazy
• 1986 – Rick Dees Greatest Hit (The White Album)
• 1996 – Spousal Arousal
• 2008 – Rick and Steve Theme Song

Hit Songs

Here are some of Rick Dees' songs that appeared on music charts:

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot.

See also

In Spanish: Rick Dees para niños