Rubber duckie
Encyclopedia
"Rubber Duckie" is a song sung by the Muppet character Ernie
(voiced by Jim Henson
) on Sesame Street
. The song is named after Ernie's toy, a rubber duck affectionately named Rubber Duckie.
The song became a surprise mainstream hit, reaching #16 on the Billboard Hot 100
in September 1970 and #14 on the Australian Singles Chart
in December that same year. "Rubber Duckie" was nominated for the Best Recording for Children
Grammy
in 1971, losing out to the album The Sesame Street Book & Record, which contained the song.
The song had two follow-ups, "Do De Rubber Duck" and "D-U-C-K-I-E".
The song made a brief appearance in a scene in Three Men and a Little Lady, and during an episode of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?
".
Ernie
Ernie is a fictional character, a Muppet on the Public Broadcasting Service's long-running children's television show, Sesame Street. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve troublemaker and Bert the world-weary foil...
(voiced by Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
) on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. The song is named after Ernie's toy, a rubber duck affectionately named Rubber Duckie.
The song became a surprise mainstream hit, reaching #16 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in September 1970 and #14 on the Australian Singles Chart
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
in December that same year. "Rubber Duckie" was nominated for the Best Recording for Children
Grammy Award for Best Album for Children
The Grammy Award for Best Album for Children has been awarded since 1959. Prior to 1992, the award was known as Best Recording for Children and was therefore open to any audio recording, whether it was an album, a single song, a recording of a book, or the audio from a television show or movie...
Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1971, losing out to the album The Sesame Street Book & Record, which contained the song.
The song had two follow-ups, "Do De Rubber Duck" and "D-U-C-K-I-E".
The song made a brief appearance in a scene in Three Men and a Little Lady, and during an episode of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
".
Different versions
- Version 1: The living room set was used.
- Version 2: The bathroom was a plain blue background.
- This version seems to be the most famous and most often-used version.
- Version 3: This version took place in an actual bathroom, interspersed with footage of rubber ducks and kids taking baths.
- Steve WhitmireSteve WhitmireSteven Whitmire is an American puppeteer who works for The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop and Disney's The Muppets Studio. He has been the performer of two signature Muppets - Kermit the Frog and Sesame Street's Ernie - since the death of their creator and original performer, Jim Henson, in...
, performer of Ernie since 1993, performed the character on this version to Jim Henson's original vocal track.
- Steve Whitmire
Other versions
- Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
also sang this song in the album Splish Splash: Bath Time Fun. - Jane KrakowskiJane KrakowskiJane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...
sings the song on her live album The Laziest Gal in Town.