Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Disco Duck (1976)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Rick Dees begins by describing a party where he can't resist that disco beat. What's the last party you attended? Was there dancing? There was dancing for the last hour of my friend John's celebration of life. He would have loved that!

2) While this record was a massive international hit in 1976, it got off to an inauspicious start. Rick Dees said it took him less than a day to write the song, and more than three months to convince anyone to let him record it. Tell us about a time you were tempted to give up, but were glad you didn't. I was reviewed by my boss CeeCee at the card shop. At the conclusion she said, "I'm so glad you insisted I hire you." She was referring to how, after I submitted an online application for the job and didn't hear back, I followed up with a personal letter. It made me stand out. Of more than 65 applicants who applied online, I'm the only one who was interviewed. So I'm glad I didn't just accept being lost in the queue.

3) In the hit movie Saturday Night Fever, students are briefly seen learning to dance to "Disco Duck." Can you name another song from Saturday Night Fever? 

4) Dees was already a top disc jockey in Memphis when "Disco Duck" was released. With the record's success, his radio career soared and he got a better job reaching a greater audience at a radio station in Los Angeles. Are there any disc jockeys you loyally listened to every day? Steve and Garry. Steve Dahl and Garry Meier. I followed them from The Loop to WLS back to The Loop. They were so creative and funny! Unfortunately, they broke up and I discovered they were better together than they are separately. (Steve is a podcaster now.)

5) After more than 20 years, Rick lost his regular radio slot to Ryan Seacrest. But he still shares "the hottest music on the planet" through the Rick Dees Hit Music app (available at the Apple App Store or Google Play). What app have you recently downloaded to your phone? Too Good to Go. It lets me know when my local grocery has surplus food available at a discounted price. I get a bargain, and there's less food gone to waste.

6) He used his favorite radio format to create a cookbook called Rick Dees All-Time Top 40 Greatest Desserts. If you could finish a delicious meal with the dessert of your choice, anything at all, what would you order?

Photo by Serghei Savchiuc on Unsplash

7) In 1976, when "Disco Duck" was a hit, The Bionic Woman premiered on ABC. Because of her "bionic parts," Jamie Summers could run super fast, had super-sensitive hearing, and super-human strength. If you could have one of those qualities enhanced -- speed, hearing or strength -- which would you choose? Speed. I could just race up to the platform and I'd never miss another train again.

8) Also in 1976, like this year, the world got together for The Summer Olympics. Will you be following the international competition? Nope.

9) Random question: You're bone tired, exhausted, and you have an early day tomorrow. As you wash your face and brush your teeth before bed, one of the two bulbs in the bathroom fixture goes out. Do you 1) change the bulb before bed or 2) promise yourself to do it in a hurry tomorrow as you're rushing around in the morning or 3) decide you can live with one bulb for a while, go to bed, and replace the burned-out bulb when you get around it? Either 1 or 3. I know me well enough that 2 is just not gonna happen.