Rick Dees

You know the old saying, "They died with their boots on?" Rick Dees is someone who will die with his cans on. Already boasting a Hall of Fame career as a morning superstar at KIIS/Los Angeles, where he once led the station to a 10 share, by now Dees could easily be kicking back, resting on his laurels.

But resting is not in his vocabulary. First Rick brought Cumulus into the mix to help him create The Daily Dees, a countdown show now heard on scores of stations in a variety of formats, which has since been picked up by scores of stations across the country. The cherry on top of this Dees sundae is the fact that he'll soon be doing mornings at KHHT (Hot 92.3)/Los Angeles, starting May 4th. Not only will he waking up L.A. again, but his retooled empire consists of simultaneously working with the powers-that-be at Clear Channel, Cumulus and Westwood One. Here's how he views his latest renaissance...

After a hugely successful morning stint at KIIS in Los Angeles, what prompted your decision to give it a go in mornings again?

Everything is aligned; all the chemistry is aligned in a perfect storm. To have Clear Channel decide that we ought to hook up again was the highlight of so many wonderful meetings. I have to give credit to Greg Ashlock and John Ivey for having the idea and developing it ... and John Hogan for saying yes ... and obviously Bob Pittman has been terrific. It's a wonderful opportunity to be back in Los Angeles; we can't wait to roll it out.

Have you settled on your on-air team?

We're going to roll it out with me and some wonderful support staff. Rather than give it out all at once time, we're going to integrate them into the mix slowly, so they can hear me relate to the new talents. Listeners are going to be pleasantly surprised; most of them are people they already know. Rather than doing it all at once, John Ivey and Greg Ashlock wisely said, "Let's look at this like we're having a meal. We start with a salad and the entree named Rick Dees, add a little of this and that ... and maybe some Hot 92.3 sauce."

Will the way you run this morning show be any different than your previous incarnations?

Absolutely. Every day is new; with new things to say and do. Five years ago, I would've been talking about Charlie Sheen, but today ... oh, sorry, wait a minute ... other than that ... seriously, every day is fresh with new ideas. I can't wait to get in there and see what's going on. We'll be mixing new features along with the old favorites my listeners have loved for years, such as "Candid Phones," "Dees Sleaze" and "Joke of the Day" ... I'm really excited; we look at it more as "Rick, the Remix."

Does a morning show for a Rhythmic AC like Hot differ much from the morning show you did for Top 40 KIIS?

The idea for this morning show is to grow the demos they already have by increasing the range, both young and old. John Ivey is the new breed of cluster programmer even though he is a veteran. He can go from Rhythmic AC to Hot AC and Top 40; he knows all the music, so he's been able to construct a musical format that's geared to work closely to all the bits and features we'll be doing.

One of the new features we'll be doing will be called "Planet of the Apps." There are over 150,000 apps out there; we're going to spotlight the ones that would appeal to our audience. Our listeners are massively into the new digital world. I read a poll recently that asked, "If you could go without food or a smartphone for two days, what would you do?" Would you believe that 75% of the students said they'd go without eating for two days to keep their smartphone?

Has it been easy for you to adopt a digital presence for your brand?

We started "Daily Dees" with a digital plan. I have to give credit to Cumulus' John Dickey, who came to me and said, "Let's put a show together and do something really special." Along with the incredible programming mind of Jan Jeffries, I knew we could do this. So we structured a national show called the Daily Dees, with hopes it would get traction all over America.

Westwood One then jumped in the mix; Dennis Green, Max Krasny and Norm Pattiz are selling the national show. Having these incredibly talented people involved has helped get The Daily Dees in markets all over America. I think we're already on in 50 markets after just eight weeks. Hopefully, it'll grow even faster now that we have the morning show in L.A.

My morning show at Hot will be an expanded, local version of that, an outgrowth of the personal connection with Cumulus and John Dickey, who took a chance with me that is already starting to pay off. We're taking the essence of The Daily Dees to create a local show in Los Angeles for Greg Ashlock, John Ivey and team at Clear Channel/L.A.

Considering what you already have going with the Daily Dees, could you also syndicate the morning show?

It's obviously a possibility. The good news is that this is first time anyone has been able to construct a deal that works for Clear Channel, Cumulus and Westwood One at the same time. We're all working together; it's really an honor to be part of this, to bring all three parties together and see if we can make some radio history.

All of the shows will come out of one place ... using the great team we have here in Burbank. But we have technical support through our connections to Cumulus in Atlanta and Westwood One in New York, as well as to other parts of L.A. It's amazing how many talents there are through our chain, who all have same goals in mind - incubate new ideas that can take better care of clients and have greater success.

I rely on SVP Joe Kieley to help me stay on top of things. He's like a human Swiss Army knife.

Has what works, content-wise, in mornings changed over the years?

They have changed. The audience changes, too. Some things you could say on the radio now -- I guess because of "Jersey Shore" and all those reality shows -- are little more cutting edge than what you could say maybe 10 years ago. My goal is to go a bit below that edge; my object is not to offend anyone. This show is not about judging anybody, but to increase the happiness in our listeners' lives. I found a book called "Notice" by Andy Andrews that I always read, which basically says that whatever you really concentrate on will eventually increase your goals. If I can concentrate on making people laugh, more people will laugh ... and ideally, more people will spend money with our sponsors.

Which reminds me, Jeff, there's a great sale going on at Target, Jeff...and the prices at Trader Joe's can't be beat for that kind of quality. ; )

How has the introduction of the PPM affected the way you do your morning show?

Our goal is to create the world's most PPM-friendly show. The PPM has reflected listeners who are time-starved; you have to catch them for the five, 15 or 20 minutes they tune in. How do you do that? Before you go turn the mic on, you have to ask yourself, "What's in it for listener? What am I going to do that benefit the listener?"

How big a video component will be integrated into your morning show; will you go above and beyond the studio cam?

We're thinking of installing a "shoe cam," so if Beyonce comes into the studio, we can show our listeners what shoes she's wearing. We like to say that if it didn't happen on video, it didn't happen.

I can't believe that I was recently saw a tape of performance I did in Italy years ago ... the San Remo Music Festival. I knew there were cameras there, but in no way did I know who was shooting or who kept the tapes. Now, it's gotten to the point where anything on tape yesterday winds up on YouTube today.

This forces us to constantly refresh our videos -- and everything else we do -- every day. My mission is that every time anyone clicks on Hot 92.3.com, it's like automatically hitting the refresh button. The same goes for Tweets. I want people who are time-starved to easily access the "Rick Dees Highlight of the Day," or one of our "Candid Phones," or "What Am I Loving Today," or a Groupon deal that gives an extra 30% to anyone who calls a specific phone number within the next two hours. These are the kind of resources we will be offering the time-starved.

A programmer recently interviewed for a "10 Questions" feature in All Access admitted that he rarely does remotes and appearances anymore, because they're usually poorly attended and they don't really benefit the station, the client or the people who show up. What's your take on personal appearances and remotes in 2011?

You know me; I'll go to the opening of an envelope. It's in my DNA. I seriously think I'm one of those rare personalities who loves to see salespeople happy. It makes my day when one of them comes up to me to say that when I mentioned something about a car dealer, they actually saw an increase in sales. I still get off on that.

You know why it still pays to go out and do it live? Because it gives you a hint, a hope or a prayer that someone, walking by the booth where the station's music is blasting out of the speakers, will have something they now call the PPM on them. You just never know.

As you certainly know, the morning show field in Los Angeles is incredibly competitive. Do you feel your brand recognition will be enough to give you enough headway to establish yourself in the thick of things sooner rather than later?

It certainly feels that way. When I originally started talking about doing a show with Clear Channel, they did a massive study to see if the audience was looking for a show like ours. Hot already had a two million cume, which is astounding. It's a great radio station, with 50k watts, flame-throwing from the top of Mt. Wilson in the Valley View Casino studios!

You were part of some epic rivalries in Los Angeles during your heyday, what with Jay Thomas on Power 106 back then, not to mention Kevin & Bean and Mark & Brian, who are all still here. Not to mention Ryan Seacrest, who rules the roost at KIIS. Is there a huge competitive drive for you to beat all of them?

It think it's fun to be competitive, but there's room enough for everybody. There are so many talented people in morning radio now - especially here. I'm just going to say that everyone has their own niche and in my case, I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may. It always comes down to ratings and revenue.

So where will you be focusing on, demo-wise?

Southern California folks who may have grown up with us, 30+ ... and anybody else who wants to join the party! The best thing about this format is that it seems to really work well for a lot of clients. With the economy like it is, with $5 gas and all the challenges we face, our target demo really wants to go to places where they can feel good. This station ...and this music ... seem to fill that niche.

So after all these years ... is it any easier for you to get up early to do a morning show?

Somebody always asks me how it feels to get up early every morning. The stock answer is, "You get used to it after a while," but I tell them it's more like slamming a door on your head every day for years. Would anyone get used to that? No matter what anyone says, you never get used to it. So, producing a fresh morning show is a real challenge for anybody who does a radio show day in and day out. Besides getting up early, you go through a mountain of material each day.

So you have no secrets to maintaining an energy level from sunrise through your other duties with The Daily Dees?

In the old days, I used to take a nap for about 20 minutes after the morning show. Now I go and do some more tracks for the national shows. Interestingly enough, at about the middle of the day - and I recommend this for everybody -- I gear down for 15 minutes and just be alone and let everything go. You do that the same time every day for about 15 minutes ... and it's almost like getting two hours of sleep. I just let my head drop; the only time it was ever a problem was when I did it while I was driving on the 405. It was a good thing the traffic wasn't moving; no one even noticed.

Bottom line: It sure sounds like the new mornings gig has given you a new lease on life, especially when it comes to a radio career.

It feels great! Here's the thing ... and this is something that very important for anyone to know. I read some of the last words from America's oldest living male. He was 114 years old and he died about two weeks ago. He said, "Here are my three secrets to living a long life" ... (besides obviously having good genetics) ... "First off, eat only two meals a day; secondly, work as long as you can and don't retire. If you leave one business, start another; and number three, focus on other people as much as possible, to give yourself a new perspective." When you do it, it energizes you. You realize there are a lot of great things left to accomplish.