Todd: If the name sounds familiar to you for non-"Disco Duck" reasons, that's actually not surprising. Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots, an attempt at self-deprecation that did nothing to endear them to the disco haters. This is the kind of song that signals that a trend has outlived its welcome, not that it's gonna keep rising for the next two or three years! Who's responsible for this? The people this was credited to were. If we lived in a logical world, this would be the cause of the disco backlash. For one week in October of 1976, it was the best selling song in America.
Todd: But "Disco Duck" stands out not just for its stunning inanity but also, that it was a number one hit. Todd: Larry Groce's "Junk Food Junkie" from that same year. Todd: If this was just one of the many stupid novelties that gets released every day, that'd be one thing. Todd: What has this harmless little joke song done to deserve such ire? I guess sometimes they're just so far up their ass all they know is. Guest: It's insane to me, what-what people will do. Watergate, gas shortage, "Disco Duck," and then maybe Jonestown.ĭarryl McDaniels: That was the wackest song ever Todd: Yes, it is finally time to look at the mid-70s phenomenon, "Disco Duck." One of the most confusing little blips in the history of disco, and consistently described as one of the worst things that happened in the 70s. Todd: I am of course talking about the one and only, the eternally infamous.ĭisco Duck: Everybody do it, the disco, disco duck! Disco, disco duck! One that no critical reappraisal has been able to take off the "Worst Songs Ever" list. Todd: Even with the massive reputational turnaround that disco has had, there is still one big disco smash that it is still okay to dislike. Like, "Oh, you dislike music made by black and gay people, huh?" "What are you trying to say, huh?" " HUH?" Todd: It flipped so hard in the other direction that now, if you try and say that disco sucks, people look at you funny. Todd (VO): And then after about twenty years of being a total punchline It was the worst music ever made.Ĭlip from The Simpsons of man in disco gear dancing
Todd (VO): And then it got hit with backlash so hard that all of a sudden. For five or six years, it was basically the only music being made.Ĭlip of Disco Demolition Night, followed by an image of man in glasses ripping his shirt open to reveal a white t-shirt that says "DISCO SUCKS!, both with "Disco Inferno" playing in the background
Todd (VO): Not so much the actual music, which, uh, I like as much as anyone, but the perception of it. Ritchie Family: It's the best disco in town, number one in disco sound! I admit, I have a minor fascination with disco.Ĭlip of people dancing to disco music, specifically "The Best Disco in Town" by The Ritchie Family Todd: Welcome back to One Hit Wonderland, where we take a look at bands and artists only known for one song. In 1982, Rick Dees moved to crosstown Top 40 outlet KIIS-FM, where he served as host of Rick Dees in the Morning until 2004, when he was replaced by Ryan Seacrest.Competed against John London.RICK DEES & HIS CAST OF IDIOTS - DISCO DUCK When KHJ fliped to a country format, Dees left the station. In 1979 Dees moved to Los Angeles and did mornings on KHJ (which was at the time WHBQ's sister station) during its final years as a Top 40 station.
Rick dees disco duck images movie#
The song had a cameo appearance in the movie Saturday Night Fever, in a brief scene in which a group of older people were learning to "move their feet to the disco beat", but the song was not included in that movie's popular soundtrack album, thus depriving him of a Grammy award that the artists on the record received. The single Disco Duck sold over six million copies and reached number 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart on October 16, 1976. Following a 45 day mandatory hiatus after his time at rival WMPS, he went on to WHBQ-AM in Memphis and took the station to #1. Dees recorded "Disco Duck" in 1976 while working at WMPS-AM in Memphis, Tennessee which fired him over his airplay of it. Dees worked in various radio stations throughout the southeastern United States, including WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama.
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