Who is Rick Dees? The Jock loved around the world!

Meet the Grammy-nominated, Billboard chart topping Broadcast Hall of Fame inductee, Rick Dees.

Ever wondered whose golden voice is it behind every Sunday and Wednesday’s The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40? That voice used and heard around the world belongs to the American legend Rigdon Osmond Dees III, popularly known as Rick Dees.

His renowned radio program The Weekly Top 40 (which has been around since 1983) is distributed to 200 radio stations worldwide, supplying the hottest and freshest tracks to whichever place it reaches. Y101 is lucky to have Rick Dees’ program syndicated and broadcast here just for you! The Rhythm of the City maintain that our listeners are provided with the latest hits as well!

Rick Dees started out as a young disc jockey in his town in North Carolina, while still in high school. He worked for various radio stations in the Southeastern U.S. But he was catapulted to international stardom with this chart-topping novelty song.
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The story goes that Rick Dees was inspired by a guy at the gym who did an impressive Donald Duck impression. Dees also recalled a 1960’s novelty song called The Duck and felt that a “disco duck” version would be a perfect idea, it was after all the disco-crazed 70s at the time.

According to Dees, it took one day to write the song, but three months to convince anyone to perform it. He was shut down by every major label, until Al Coury of Capitol Records decided to take it home and have his kids listen to it. The kids liked and laughed at the song, so Coury took it in! Soon, the "Disco Duck" was being heard all over America, except in Memphis, Tennessee where Dees was spinning tunes.

Radio stations there were wary of playing it so as not to promote a rival station and Dees’ own station forbade him to play it too. He did make a mention of the song's popularity on his morning show one day and was promptly fired by the station manager who felt it was a conflict of interest.

Eventually Rick Dees found his footing, and he has been on the air and in our hair since! Check him every Sundays (2pm to 6pm) and recaps on Wednesdays (6pm to 10pm) on Y101’s canned Rick Dees Weekly Top 40. Only here on the rhythm of the city, Y101, Always First.