Swapping places, trading jokes

April 1, 1996: For a few hours on April Fools’ Day, Mayor Richard J. Riordan swapped jobs with Rick Dees, morning deejay at KIIS-FM (102.7). At the Burbank radio station, Riordan spun records and chattered away -- betraying his age by describing his favorite singers as Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and “the modern ones,” Frankie Avalon and Bobby Sherman. “I hope I didn’t destroy your ratings,” he told Dees. At City Hall, Dees sat with his feet up on a desk that Riordan’s staff arranged for him in a conference room. (They wouldn’t let Dees use the real mayoral office.) “I know I never will be in politics, so this is the closest I can get right here. Once they run the background check on me, I’m history,” said Dees, who as mayor declared “No Panty Monday” and gave two 911 operators $100 raises for saying their names on the radio.