Believe it or not, as unlikely a chart-topper as was “Disco Duck,” it wasn’t the first “Dancing Duck” hit song.
Years before 1976, when “Disco Duck” became a #1 song, R&B; singer Jackie Lee (aka Jay Dee, Earl Cosby and Chip Nelson) had a hit with a dance song called “The Duck,” * in 1965. It was the only hit of his career, although he made many records and was a successful performer.
“Disco Duck” was the goofy brain-child of radio disc-jockey Rick Dees. While it ripped up the charts to #1 in the disco-dance hysteria of the 70s, it got Rick canned.
“Along with his ‘Cast Of Idiots,’ Dees recorded “Disco Duck” in 1976 while working at [radio station] WMPS-AM in Memphis, Tennessee, but he was expressly forbidden from playing the song on the air by station management (rival stations refused to play it for fear of promoting their competiton). He was later fired on-the-spot simply for talking about the song on the air one morning — the station manager claimed conflict of interest.” —Wikipedia
“Disco Duck” was featured briefly in the blockbuster John Travolta movie, Saturday Night Fever, which exploited the disco craze like no other product. The film and soundtrack made millions for the Gibb-brothers’ Bee Gees, Kool & the Gang, and others.
The Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack however, which won the Grammy for “Album of the Year” in 1978, did not include “Disco Duck.” The album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, denying Dees of millions in royalties, not to mention a Grammy.
But Rick Dees isn’t exactly hurting. His famous Weekly Top Forty radio show is syndicated on over 400 radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. In 1999 he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Acting credits abound for Rick as well. In the motion picture La Bamba, Rick portrayed Ted Quillen, the young man who helped launch the career of Richie Valens. Rick was the character Rocket Rick in The Jetsons: The Movie. His television credits include appearances on Roseanne, Married with Children and Burke’s Law, as well as the host of his own ABC-TV late night program Into The Night, Starring Rick Dees, and the popular syndicated series, Solid Gold. Rick is also known for his character voices for animated children’s programs including The Flintstones, for which he provided the voice of ‘Rock Dees’…For the past eleven years, Dees has been named Billboard Magazine’s ‘Number One Radio Personality in America.’ —Rick.com
You can learn more about Rick Dees and hear his streaming radio shows at his official website.
*Not to be confused with the YouTube hit by Bryant Oden in 2009.