{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox song | name = Disco Duck | cover = File:Disco duck.jpg | alt = This is a low resolution image of the cover art for "The Original Disco Duck" album which contains the song "DISCO DUCK" by the artist Rick Dees. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, RSO, or the graphic artist(s). This image is of a cover of an audio recording, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the work or the artist(s) which produced the recording or cover artwork in question. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of such covers solely to illustrate the audio recording in question, and on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, qualifies as fair use under the copyright law of the United States. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. | type = single | artist = Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots | album = The Original Disco Duck | A-side = Disco Duck (Part One) | B-side = Disco Duck (Part Two) | released = September 4, 1976 | recorded = 1973 in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | studio = | venue = | genre = Disco, novelty | length = 3:17 | label = {{Ubl | Fretone (initial release) | RSO (wide distribution)}} | writer = Rick Dees | producer = Bobby Manuel | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = Dis-Gorilla | next_year = 1976 | misc = {{External music video|header=Audio video|type=single|{{YouTube|yEE7AA7wvL4|"Disco Duck (Part One)"}}}} }}
"'''Disco Duck'''" is a satirical disco novelty song performed by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots. At the time, Dees was a Memphis disc jockey. It became a number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week in October 1976 (and ranked #97 out of the 100 most popular songs of the year according to ''Billboard'' magazine). It also made the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at number 15. "Disco Duck" was initially released in the south by Estelle Axton's Fretone label, but it was later released by RSO Records for national and international distribution. The song earned a 1977 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Song.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/?year=1977|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509202750/http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/?year=1977|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 9, 2016 |title=1977 Nominees & Winners |accessdate=October 13, 2019}}</ref>
==Origin, composition and lyrics== Written by Dees, "Disco Duck" was inspired by a 1960s novelty dance song called "The Duck", recorded by Jackie Lee (Earl Lee Nelson) in 1965.<ref>{{YouTube|Zu4lb6rXhnw|Jackie Lee - The Duck}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Jackie-Lee-The-Duck/release/2246137 |title=Jackie Lee - The Duck |website=Discogs|date=September 1965 }}</ref> According to Dees, it took one day to write the song, but three months to convince anyone to perform it.<ref name=Bronson>{{cite book |last=Bronson |first=Fred |year=1992 |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, 3rd Edition |publisher=Billboard Publications |location=New York City |isbn=0-8230-8298-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/billboardbookofn0000bron/page/445 445] | url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/billboardbookofn0000bron/page/445}}</ref>
Combining orchestral disco styles with a Donald Duck–esque voice (actually that of Yakky Doodle) as the main plot point, the story within "Disco Duck" centers on a man at a dance party who is overcome by the urge to get up and "get down" in a duck-like manner. When the music stops, he sits down, but when he decides to get up and dance again, he finds that everyone in the room is now doing his dance.
==Response and impact== "Disco Duck" became a nationwide hit in the United States by September 1976. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, it peaked at number one on October 16, 1976, for one week, held the number-two spot for the following four weeks and remained in the Top 10 for a total of 10 weeks.<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |year=2001 |title=Billboard Top 10 Singles Charts, 1955-2000 |publisher=Billboard Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-89820-145-4 |pages=305–307}}</ref> The single sold over 4 million copies and won a People's Choice Award.<ref name="amg">{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-original-disco-duck-mw0001880186 |title=Rick Dees – ''The Original Disco Duck'' |last=Griffith |first=JT |publisher=AllMusic Guide |lang=en-US |accessdate=November 24, 2022}}</ref>
For all its success, "Disco Duck" got very little airplay in Memphis, including at WMPS, the station Dees worked for at the time; Dees was forbidden by station management to play the record on his own show, and rival stations refused to play it for fear of promoting the competition. When Dees merely mentioned the song on his show one morning, WMPS management fired him citing conflict of interest. After a brief mandatory hiatus, Dees was hired on at WMPS' primary competition, WHBQ, who gave him permission to play his song.<ref name=Bronson />
By the time "Disco Duck" had become a hit, Dees and his "Idiots" started making the rounds of the popular TV music shows to promote the record. On ''American Bandstand'' (and similar shows), Dees lip-synched to the recording, alone on stage with puppeteer Rickey Provow animating a duck puppet that he had made. This appearance was never seen in the Memphis area due to then-ABC affiliate WHBQ-TV pre-empting ''Bandstand'' for wrestling{{Clarify|date=March 2012}} at the time and for the aforementioned Memphis radio avoidance reasons. But when Dees appeared on ''The Midnight Special'' and went on a live tour along the East Coast, he hired a band, backing singers and a commercial artist, Michael Chesney, to perform the duck vocals, and they did everything live.
"Disco Duck" made an appearance in the film ''Saturday Night Fever'', in a dance club scene in which a group of students were learning to dance disco-style. It was also featured in a deleted scene added to the PG-rated version. As it stands, Dees could have made an even more substantial amount of money from the song. According to Dees, his manager at the time made the extremely unwise decision to deny use of the song on the film's soundtrack album because of fears that it would compete with sales of Dees's own record.<ref>Boucher, Geoff. [http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-dees23sep23,0,6380220.story "A New Dees Dawn"], ''The Los Angeles Times'', September 23, 2006.</ref> The ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, and is the second best-selling soundtrack of all time.
Irwin the Disco Duck, also called Irwin the Dynamic Duck, a fictional character who was featured on a series of children's records from Peter Pan Records, was inspired by this record.<ref name=PPR>{{Cite web |url=http://forbiddeneye.com/labels/peterpan.html |title=Peter Pan Records Discography |website=forbiddeneye.com}}</ref>
==Chart performance== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
===Weekly charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (1976–1977) !Peak<br>position |- |Argentina<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cash Box - International Best Sellers|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-02-05.pdf|website=worldradiohistory.com|publisher=Cash Box. 5 February 1977. p. 55.}}</ref> |align="center"|9 |- |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus76">{{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/QxANsEK|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1976|publisher= Kent Music Report |issue= 131 |via= Imgur |date= December 27, 1976 |access-date= January 15, 2022 }}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|4 |- {{singlechart|Flanders|3|artist= Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck}} |- {{singlechart|Wallonia|3|artist= Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck}} |- |Canada Top Singles (''RPM'') | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=60|first=Timo|last=Pennanen|year=2021|title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021|section=Rick DEES & His Cast of Idiots|page=60|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|access-date=25 September 2024|language=Finnish}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|22 |- |France (IFOP)<ref>{{cite web|title= Le Détail par Artiste |website= InfoDisc |accessdate= 25 September 2024 |url= https://infodisc.fr/Tubes_Artiste_Choisi.php |id= Select "DEES, Rick" from the artist drop-down menu |language= fr}}</ref> |align="center"|63 |- |Israel (IBA)<ref>26 September 1976</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|4 |- |Italy (FIMI)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/ad.htm |title=Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: D |accessdate=July 6, 2012 |publisher=Hit Parade Italia}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|4 |- {{singlechart|Dutch40|4|year=1976|week=46}} |- {{singlechart|Dutch100|4|artist=Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck}} |- {{singlechart|New Zealand|7|artist=Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck}} |- {{singlechart|Norway|3|artist=Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck}} |- |Spain (PROMUSICAE)<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://listadesuperventas.blogspot.com/ |title= Listas de superventas: 1977 |author= Davidalic |publisher= Listas De Superventas |work= AFE |date= 11 February 1989 |access-date= 25 September 2024}}</ref> |align="center"|25 |- {{singlechart|Sweden|3|artist=Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck}} |- |UK Singles (OCC) | style="text-align:center;"|6 |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19761030.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 10/30/76 |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322163729/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19761030.html |archive-date=March 22, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- {{singlechart|West Germany|7|artist=Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots|song=Disco Duck|songid=240573|accessdate=March 2, 2020}} |} {{col-2}}
===Year-end charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (1976) !Position |- |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus76"/> |align="center"|46 |- !Chart (1977) !Position |- |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name=kent77>{{cite web |url=https://i.imgur.com/dHS3QPH.jpg |title=Kent Music Report No 183 – 26 December 1977 > National Top 100 Singles for 1977 |publisher=Kent Music Report |via=Imgur.com|access-date=June 13, 2021}}</ref> |align="center"|61 |- |Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1976 |title=Jaaroverzichten 1976 |publisher=Ultratop|access-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|57 |- |Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5173a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=u9874ano8k0c5b6bkp4r8qrbp3 |title=Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977 |work=RPM |publisher=Library and Archives Canada |accessdate=June 13, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160319222559/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5173a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=u9874ano8k0c5b6bkp4r8qrbp3 |archive-date= March 19, 2016 |url-status= dead}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1976 |title=Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1976 |publisher=Dutch Top 40|access-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|61 |- |Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1976&cat=s |title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1976 |website=dutchcharts.nl|access-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|75 |- |UK Singles (OCC) | style="text-align:center;"|72 |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>[http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1976.htm Musicoutfitters.com]</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|97 |- |US ''Cash Box''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1976YESP.html |title=Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1976 |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020004356/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1976YESP.html |archive-date=October 20, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|4 |- |}
===All-time charts=== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! Chart (1958–2018) ! Position |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary |title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart |magazine=Billboard |accessdate=December 10, 2018}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|175 |}
{{col-end}}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Rick Dees|title=Disco Duck|award=Platinum|relyear=1976|certyear=1976}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Rick Dees|title=Disco Duck|award=Platinum|relyear=1976|certyear=1976}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{authority control}}
Category:1976 singles Category:1976 songs Category:Rick Dees songs Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Cashbox number-one singles Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles Category:American disco songs Category:American novelty songs Category:RSO Records singles Category:Songs about disco Category:Songs about dancing Category:Song recordings produced by Bobby Manuel