Novelty songs have long had a place in pop music history, but few became as memorable or as successful as one quirky disco-era hit from the 1970s. The playful track topped the charts and became a cultural phenomenon, helping launch the career of radio personality and entertainer Rick Dees. Best known for his hit "Disco Duck," Rigdon Osmond Dees III, best known as Rick Dees, turned 76 years old on Saturday.
Dees was born in Jacksonville, FL and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. He began his radio career in high school at a Greensboro radio station called WGBG. In 1972, Dees graduated with a degree in Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Years later, the university honored the entertainer with The Rick Dees Student Production Fund, which provides awards to multiple students each year and helps pay production expenses like talent compensation, equipment rentals, props, location costs, transportation and insurance.
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His introduction to songwriting and the entertainment industry began while working at WMPS AM 680, or "The Great 68" show in Memphis, Tennessee, in the middle of the disco craze during the 1970s. He wrote and recorded "Disco Duck" in 1976, which sold more than six million copies. The song can even be heard in a brief scene in Saturday Night Fever. In addition, it earned him a People's Choice Award for Favorite New Song and the BMI Award for record sales in one year.
"Disco Duck" is a satirical disco novelty song performed by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots. The tune was the No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in October 1976 and also made the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at number 15.
Written by Dees himself, "Disco Duck" was inspired by the 1965 novelty dance song called "The Duck" by Jackie Lee. It took the musician one day to write the song, but months to convince people to record and perform it. He ended up signing with Estelle Axton and her label Fretone Records, and got the song produced by Bobby Manuel.
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According to a column written by Stereogum in September 2019, Dees was actually fired by The Great 88 five days before "Disco Duck" hit No. 1. WMPS wouldn't let him play his song because they thought it would violate FCC rules about conflict of interest. Other Memphis stations did not want to play the song either because they didn't want to promote their competition.
"If you're a local radio station, and one of your DJs suddenly has a hit single shooting up the national charts, you can probably get away with letting him play the damn song," Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote. "But then again, this was 'Disco Duck.' Can you blame the station?"
Photo of Rick Dees in 1970.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Despite the tune hitting No. 1, "Disco Duck" repeatedly shows up on worst-songs-of-all-time lists. Dees only made one hit song. His follow-up single, "Dis-Gorilla," peaked at #56 on the chart. He continued to find work as a DJ and is still a radio host. He remains active in broadcasting, hosting his long-running syndicated weekly countdown show, The Weekly Top 40, and posting on social media. In honor of Pi Day on March 14, the 76-year-old radio host shared a video on Instagram and Facebook of some pumpkin nut muffins he made.
View this post on Instagram"Disco Duck" can be streamed on all digital platforms. His current radio show, The Weekly Top 40, can be listened to directly at Rick.com or through the iHeartRadio app.
Related: '70s Rocker, With Iconic 1976 No. 1 Hit Song, Turns 78
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