19 Facts About Rick Dees

Rick Dees performed the title song for the film Meatballs.

Rick Dees was born Rigdon Osmond Rick Dees III in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 14,1950.

Rick 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.

Rick Dees began his radio career at a Greensboro radio station called WGBG while still in high school.

Rick Dees worked for various radio stations throughout the southeastern United States, including WCAR in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama, and WKIX in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Rick Dees was fired from WMPS when he mentioned that his song, "Disco Duck", was almost number 1, and his own radio station would not let him play it.

Rick Dees did not perform the actual duck vocals on the song since he could not "talk like a duck".

Rick Dees helped their ratings, but AM music radio was rapidly losing ground to FM.

When KHJ switched to country music, Rick Dees left KHJ, taking a morning position at KIIS-FM in July 1981.

Rick Dees returned to Los Angeles radio in August 2006 on KMVN, Movin 93.9, hosting the morning show along with Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and Mark Wong.

Rick Dees continues to host the syndicated Daily Dees daily show.

Rick Dees can be heard daily in the Hawaiian islands on 96.1 each morning live.

Rick Dees has garnered many accolades, including the Marconi Award, induction into both the National Radio Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame.

Rick Dees is an inductee in the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame, the Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame, has received the Billboard Radio Personality Of The Year award for 10 consecutive years, received a People's Choice Award, and has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In feature films, Rick Dees starred in La Bamba, portraying the iconic Ted Quillin, the Los Angeles disc jockey who helped launch Ritchie Valens's career.

Rick Dees's voice was heard as the radio DJ during the opening credits of the film Valley Girl, released in 1983.

In 2020, Rick Dees provided the voice of Peter Griffin's impression of him in the Family Guy episode "La Famiglia Guy".

In 1984, Rick Dees 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.

Rick Dees decided to 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.