Rick Dees

The couple have a son, Kevin. Earth Wind & Fire was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Dees is married to Julie Dees, a voice actress. The albums first single is "Show Me the Way", featuring Raphael Saadiq [1] (http://www.philipbailey.com/). Dees served as host of two television shows, Solid Gold and Into The Night With Rick Dees. A new album, Illuminated, is scheduled for release in 2005. Dees has appeared in several movies and has made many guest appearances on television shows such as Married With Children, The Love Boat, and Diagnosis Murder. In the summer of 2004, Earth, Wind & Fire signed an exlusive record deal with Sanctuary Urban Records Group, owned by Matthew Knowles, father and manager of pop star Beyoncé.

Though he currently does not have host a morning show, Dees is under contract with Clear Channel until January 1, 2005. The Promise received good reveiws upon its release, and was first issued in the United States and Japan; it was issued in Europe in early 2004. Seacrest also serves as host of American Idol and replaced Casey Kasem on American Top 40. Maurice White released two new Earth, Wind & Fire albums on his own label, Kalimba Records, in 2002: Live In Rio, a live album from a 1980 tour, and The Promise, the band's first all-new studio album in six years. Rick Dees in the Morning was replaced by Clear Channel Communications in 2004 with Ryan Seacrest's On Air with Ryan Seacrest. Five years later, Maurice White was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Dees was inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame in 1999 and has also received the People's Choice Award and has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. In 1993, saxonphonist Don Myrick was fatally shot by the Los Angeles Police Department in a case of mistaken identity.

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 is currently heard on over 350 radio stations in the United States, as well as in 125 other countries. The band continued to periodically release new albums, including 1990's Heritage and 1993's Millennium in 1993. Dees began his weekly Top 40 show, still currently in syndication, in 1983. A 1987 Earth, Wind & Fire reunion was a mild success, but the band was never able to return to the kind of success they had achieved in the 1970s. In 1982, Rick Dees moved to KIIS, a radio station in Los Angeles, where he served as host of Rick Dees in the Morning until 2004. White disbanded Earth, Wind & Fire in 1983 after Electric Universe was released to poor sales and reviews. The single sold over six million copies and reached number 1 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart on October 16, 1976. Two years later, the band released the critically acclaimed I Am with the mainstream ballad "After The Love Is Gone". After the releases of Faces (1980) and Raise! (1981), which featured the popular single "Let's Groove", the band's success started to wane.

Dees recorded "'Disco Duck'" in 1976 while working at WMPS, a station in Memphis, Tennesse. Earth Wind & Fire released Spirit in 1976; and had hits with singles such as "Getaway" and "Imagine." In 1977, the group released another classic album, All 'N All, featuring songs such as "I Write A Song", "Serpentine Fire", "Love's Holiday", and the pop hit "Fantasy." Not long after its release, producer and songwriter Charles Stepney died of a heart attack. Dees worked in various radio stations through out the southeastern US. New studio hits such as "Sing A Song" and "Can't Hide Love" were also included. Dees graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. Also in 1975, Earth, Wind & Fire released Gratitude, a live album which featured performances of singles from previous albums such as "Sun Goddess" with jazz legend Ramsey Lewis, "Shining Star", and the quiet storm classic "Reasons". Dees began his radio career in 1966 at the age of 17 at WGBG, a Greensboro radio station. Though the film was not a success, the song "Shining Star" became a huge mainstream hit and launched the band's career.

Dees was born Rigdon Osmond Dees on March 14, 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida and was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. Earth, Wind & Fire's true breakthrough, however, came in the form of the soundtrack to That's the Way of the World in 1975. Dees is best known for his syndicated radio show Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 and for the song "Disco Duck". The Head to the Sky album (1973) was a moderate success, but 1974's Open Our Eyes was a major hit. Rick Dees is a radio disc jockey who currently lives in the San Fernando Valley area, near Los Angeles, California, USA. At this time, Claves, Lawsm and Bautista left the band, and Andrew Woolfolk, Al McKay, and Johnny Graham were added to the lineup. The new line-up was signed to CBS Records by Clive Davis and released Last Days and Time without much success.

In 1972, White dissolved the line-up (minus himself and brother Verdine White), and added Jessica Cleaves (vocals),Ronnie Laws (flute, saxophone), Larry Dunn (keyboard), Ralph Johnson (percussion) and Philip Bailey (vocals, formerly of Friends & Love). However, neither album was commercially successful. Their self-titled debut album, Earth, Wind & Fire, was released in 1970 to great critical acclaim, as was The Need of Love (1971). White moved his band to Los Angeles, California and changed its name to "Earth, Wind & Fire".

After spending time as a member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, he formed a band called The Salty Peppers and signed to Capitol Records, releasing a regionally successful single called "La La Time". Bandleader Maurice White began his recording career as a session drummer, working for Chess Records. Led by Maurice White, they are best known for their hits of the 1970s, among them "After the Love is Gone", "Reasons", and "Shining Star". Earth, Wind & Fire is a legendary American funk band, formed in Chicago in 1969.