In 1985, Rick Dees ruled the Los Angeles airwaves at 102.7 KIIS-FM. Hearing this aircheck and hearing Dees again 40 years later, it is amazing that I can still remember all the words to his show opening.
Dees also hosted the “Rick Dees Weekly Top 40” and appeared in TV shows Married…with Children, The Love Boat, Melrose Place, and many others.
Of course, Dees will be forever linked to his number one record, Disco Duck, a song he wrote when he was with WMPS, The Great 98, in Memphis. He was forbidden to play the record with management citing a “conflict of interest.” Dees was fired for mentioning the song on his show.
From there, Dees moved crosstown to WHBQ 560 and then to KHJ-AM Los Angeles before settling at KISS-FM where he spent the next 23 years until Ryan Seacrest replaced him.
In the aircheck, notice how he uses branding tools like 78 Dees-Grees and moves seamlessly between characters, many of which were voiced by his wife, Julie Dees.
While Dees’ resume is impressive, you have to wonder what it would have been like if there had been widespread syndication like today and all the content creation avenues developed in the past 40 years.
Enjoy Rick Dees from 1985 at KIIS-FM, Los Angeles. If you are a glutton for punishment, I also included Disco Duck.
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
