Rick Dees is set to be
honored by the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters January 23rd. PPB President Chuck
Street -- who happens to be Dees’ longtime traffic reporter from his days at
KIIS-FM (102.7) -- will present the Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award at the
PPB luncheon at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City.
Now you may be thinking ...
Dees a pioneer? He’s so young! How can a guy who just got started be a
pioneer?
Easy. It was 1979 when Dees
landed in Los Angeles, first at KHJ (930 AM) and then for almost a quarter
century at KIIS-FM. 1979 is 36 years ago, even if it seems like yesterday to
those of us who still live in the past.
Dees defined top-40 morning
radio in Los Angeles for a generation of listeners, in an era when many thought
the format was dead. His impact at KHJ was minimal due to owner RKO’s decision
to change the format to country just when master programmer Chick Martin was
hitting his stride (though ironically earning ratings the station would never
see so high ever again).
But at KIIS, surrounded by
a supportive General Manager Wally Clark, programmer Gerry DeFrancisco, a “Cast
of idiots” that included the talented Liz Fultan, Dees’ own wife Julie, Danny
Lemus and more, and an airstaff of talent seldom seen in the same building --
including Big Ron O’Brien, Paul Freeman, Bruce Vidal among others -- Dees helped
lead a revolution.
Dees was the face of the
station, literally, his face plastered on billboards and bus boards everywhere.
The morning show would be the cornerstone of the entire format. And it worked:
the “dead” top-40 format became so popular that like KHJ before it, KIIS-FM
started setting ratings records and having copycat stations spring up across the
nation.
Those ratings records, by
the way, still stand: No FM station in Los Angeles has earned the ratings
KIIS-FM had in the early to mid 1980s; only the AM stations of the 1960s and
‘70s commanded a higher rating than KIIS’s 10+ shares in the Arbitron ratings,
and that was before the popularity -- and extra competition of FM.
In addition to radio, Dees
could be found on television, and he has some music to his credit including the
famous (infamous?) hit “Disco Duck” that sold more than six million copies. He
received the Billboard Radio Personality of the Year award for ten
consecutive years and has won numerous other prestigious awards including the
Marconi Award and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was even inducted
into numerous Halls of Fame: The National Association of Broadcasters, National
Radio, North Carolina Music, and Tennessee Radio. And this is just a partial
list.
Dees still hosts syndicated
countdown shows including the “Rick Dees Weekly Top-40” that can be heard
throughout the United States and overseas. Just not here in Los Angeles, which I
find quite strange considering his long history here. You can hear it online and
through apps such as TuneIn, though. You can check out everything he’s up to at
his website, www.rick.com.
Yes, I’d say he is most
certainly a pioneer and absolutely deserving of this PPB honor. On the dais at
the luncheon will be Channel 4 weatherman Fritz Coleman, David Sheehan, and
Scott St. James. But my hunch is that he’ll have some catching up to do with his
old friend Clark, who will be there as well.
Mark and (Not) Brian
The Sound’s (100.3 FM) Dave
Beasing told me that Mark Thompson makes his return to the Los Angeles airwaves
on February 2nd. I’ll have some more information on the show next week.
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