Because there are no more significant examples of racism left to confront? Guess again. But why do you think the reaction is so different today than it was thirty years ago? Because we've become overly sensitive and quick to take umbrage? Hardly: in 70s terms, the disc was offensive to anyone who wasn't a George Wallace voter. He is also well known for his 1 hit single 'Disco Duck,' a Satire of the Disco trend, credited to Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots. His Weekly Top 40 competed with Casey Kasems American Top 40.Dees also contributed to the USA Today syndicated radio program, as an entertainment reporter. Now make no mistake, I'm glad Imus is no longer on the radio, and I hope he never comes back. Rick Dees (born Rigdon Osmond Dees III, March 14, 1950) is an American radio host. (The song was banned, allegedly, though I can't believe it would have gotten significant airplay in any case.) Thirty years later, one-time Dees competitor Don Imus was tossed out on his ear for racist comments which were rather milder and unpremeditated: unlike Imus, Dees wrote, recorded, released and distributed his song with the knowledge and consent of his corporate masters.

The thing that strikes me, though, is that Rick Dees, a working DJ at the time the song was released, emerged unscathed from the experience, and is working in radio to this day. It's definitely worth a spin just to hear how ill-conceived and clueless an attempt at humor can be: the concluding watermelon reference is jaw-dropping. I intend to use the blog mostly to discuss songs I like, but this time I wanted to call your attention to this forgotten flop single from the creator of 'Disco Duck.' Ostensibly a parody of a certain R&B singer, with the Caucasian-American Dees performing both the egotistical seducer and his reluctant female prey in mock 'black' accents, it manages to be at once incredibly offensive and totally unfunny.

Rick dees disco duck album art