Rigdon Osmond Dees III (Rick Dees) grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he began his radio career at age 17 upon being dared by another student to audition for a local radio station. Dees took the challenge, landed the job at WGBG, and has worked in radio ever since. He was known first as Rig Dees and then adopted the name Rick. Dees has combined his love for comedy and the absurd to create his own wacky style, which is performed for listeners by his "Cast of Idiots," a myriad of voices both self-created and done by his wife, Julie. Dees' unique radio style has inspired audiences to tune in and to make him number one in the ratings in every market in which he has worked. From WGBG he moved to WCOG in Greensboro in 1969. In 1971 Dees split time between WKIX in Raleigh and WTOB in Winston-Salem while working on his degree at the University of North Carolina.

     Dees left North Carolina in 1973 to join WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama. He moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1976, where he worked for a short time at WMPS before moving over to WHBQ that same year. As an air personality in Memphis, Dees became known nationally in 1976 with his disco music parody "Disco Duck," which reached multi-plati­num status by selling more than 4 million copies. The song made it to number one on the charts and landed Dees a Peo­ple's Choice Award. In addition to "Disco Duck," Dees produced and wrote several comedy albums, including I'm Not Crazy, Rick Dees' Greatest Hit (The White Album), and Put it Where the Moon Don't Shine. His album Hurt Me Baby, Make Me Write Bad Checks was nominated for a Grammy Award.

     In 1979 Dees moved to Los Angeles station KHJ-AM, where he was not particularly successful. But upon moving to Los Angeles' KHS-FM in 1981, where he remained as of early 2003, Dees began a streak of winning Billboard's Radio Personality of the Year award 15 consecutive times. Since 1982, he has hosted American Broadcasting Companies (ABC) Radio's internationally syndicated The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40, which airs to 30 million people via more than 400 stations in the United States and 70 other countries.

     Dees was part of a 1984 Top 40 revival radio now known as "contemporary hit radio." The format relies on personalities or "superjocks" who are as important to the format as the music is. The format has been likened to that employed by 1960s air personalities such as Cousin Brucie Morrow, Murray the K, Alan Freed, Wolfman Jack, and others. Dees' fans are attracted by loony gags and bits. One of his staples is "Spousal Arousal," in which a spouse offers his or her partner romantic enticements. Another is "Battle of the Sexes," where men and women compete in trivia contests. Dees attributes his longevity in radio to his ability to stand for things that are different from the Howard Sterns of the world. On his own show, Stern frequently insults Dees.

     Dees hosted the syndicated TV show Solid Gold (1983-84) and ABC-TV's largely unsuccessful late-night program Into the Night Starring Rick Dees (1990-91), a midnight talk show targeted at a younger viewing audience. His house band was Billy Vera and the Beaters, and the announcer was Lisa Canning. Greg Binkley and Bob Perlow provided comedy bits, along with "The Committee,'' four female senior citizens interacting with the host about a variety of topics. Dees said the show did not work because he was up against Johnny Carson's last year on the National Broadcasting Company's (NBC) The Tonight Show. Also, it was on during the Gulf War and was frequently delayed when Ted Koppel's ABC Nightline went overtime.

     Other Dees television credits include appearances on Roseanne, Married with Children, and Burke's Law and voiceovers for animated children's programs such as The Flintstones, in which he was "Rock Dees." In the film La Bamba, the story of rock and roll artist Richie Valens, Dees played Ted Quillen, the person who helped start Valens' career. In the animated full­ length motion picture The Jetsons: The Movie, he played Rocket Rick. Dees has received numerous honors ·and awards for his accomplishments, including placement of his own star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.