Dees Sleaze

Bravo to Clear Channel for doing something I hadn't done in years: Want to root for Rick Dees.

As a radio-obsessed kid, I was infatuated with two DJs: My idol, Mr. Casey Kasem, and this L.A. morning DJ I read all about named Rick Dees. I didn't live in LA, but eventually heard him through occassional visits to Los Angeles (when I'd anxiously tune to KIIS-FM to hear first hand what this radio station was all about) and his syndicated countdown show "Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40."
I wanted to be a DJ, and here was the guy with the ultimate gig: Morning jock at the nation's preeminent top 40 radio station.

Eventually, of course, I got older, and my music tastes strayed from top 40 to more adventurous sounds. And my sense of humor matured as well, as I embraced irony.

Radio changed as well. Top 40 stations became harder to program, as music tastes splitered. Clear Channel took over the world, including KIIS.

By the time I arrived in LA, in 1996, I had long moved past my interest in Rick Dees. I just couldn't listen to him. And his popularity had sagged from its height in the 1980s, as newer entries such as Howard Stern, Mark & Brian, the Baka Boyz and Kevin & Bean siphoned the English-speaking LA radio listeners. (The Boyz, of course, are long gone, while Mark & Brian sure aren't the big success they were in the early 90s either.)

But I still respected the guy. Radio is a business that doesn't believe in longevity. Few stay at one station for too long; Dees was at KIIS for 22 years.

Don Barrett, the man behind LARadio.com, which covered the Dees story more extensively than anyone else, quotes Daily Breeze writer Richard Wagoner: "Dees was not the problem with KIIS. You can't get high ratings without having good programming. And you can't have a good morning show and absolutely nothing else as KIIS does right now. What is CCU planning?"

Listen here (at Dees' official website) to hear audio of Dees' final moment on the air this Tuesday.

One final thought: Clear Channel is investing a lot of its future in Ryan Seacrest, who just took over Casey Kasem's slot on "American Top 40" and will now fill Rick Dees' shoes. Stay tuned.