Rubber Duckie (song)

From Muppet Wiki

Written by	Jeff Moss
Music by
Lyrics by
Date	1970
Source	Sesame Street
Publisher	Festival Attractions

First Appearance: Episode 0078

Picture sleeve for the 1976 single (note that Ernie's holding the original Rubber Duckie).

"Rubber Duckie" is Ernie's signature song, a tribute to his beloved Rubber Duckie. The song enjoyed popular fame, reaching number 16 on Billboard's "Hot 100 Singles" chart in 1970. ^[1] It was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children, but it lost to The Sesame Street Book & Record, which, ironically, also contains the song.

In the original version, which first aired in episode 0078, Ernie sang the song in a bathtub in a room that resembled his living room. A brief clip from this version was included in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years.

Jeff Moss squeaked a duckie during the original recording, and has squeaked the duck in all Rubber Duckie recordings since then. The same Rubber Duckie has been used because nobody could find a duckie that could match the sound of the original. ^[2]

In the second season, a new version of the song was filmed, in which Ernie sang in a bathtub in a bathroom with a plain blue background (EKA: Episode 0685). This seems to be the most famous and commonly seen version. It was included in many videos, including Sing Along and a partially-Hebrew version in the Shalom Sesame episode "The Land of Israel". Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting featured this segment, with portions dubbed into many different languages. This version was also featured in Sesame Street Unpaved, and before that documentary aired, Noggin's website included this and four other skits for fans to vote on, and this sketch had the most votes.

In 1974, Ernie sang the song as "El Patito," with a new Latin arrangement and Spanish-language vocals by Jim Henson. This version was released on the album ¡Sesame Mucho!, and later issued as a single backed with the original English version in 1976.

A new version of "Rubber Duckie" with Ernie was filmed in the 1990s, using the original recording with Jim Henson as Ernie (EKA: Episode 3882). Similarly, the same vocal track was also used for a film segment showing various kids taking baths (EKA: Episode 3848). Ernie has also sung lines from the song in a few segments, including one where he prepares for a bath (which can be viewed on the Web Video Player), and in a sketch where Ernie and Bert travel to egypt, where Ernie soon gets joined by a statue who resembles Ernie. The sketch "Best Friend Blues" begins with Hoots the Owl asking Ernie if he wants to sing "Rubber Duckie".

Ernie's not the only one to perform the song. Bob McGrath recorded a cover version in 1991 for the Bob's Favorite Street Songs album. Little Richard also performed a rock-and-roll version of the song for Sesame Street (EKA: Episode 3309). Bert even sang the song once, in a sketch where Ernie wanted Bert to be able to sing to Rubber Duckie whenever Ernie couldn't.

In a flashback sequence in episode 4067, The Electric Three performed "Rubber Duckie". A line from the song was also featured in the closing medley in Elmopalooza.