Put Down the Duckie (song)





"Put Down the Duckie", performed by Hoots the Owl and Ernie, encourages one not to let possessions get in the way of other activities. Ernie wants to play the saxophone, but due to the presence of Rubber Duckie in his hand, he can only produce a squeak.

During the season that this song premiered, every time a celebrity appeared on the show, the producers would tape a special verse to be sung by that celebrity, and these verses were then edited into the song for later re-airing. Celebrities included:

John Candy (Both Versions),

Celia Cruz (Both Versions),

Jane Curtin (Both Versions),

Pee Wee Herman (1st Version only),

Keith Hernandez (1st Version only),

Jeremy Irons (Both Versions),

Gordon Jackson (Both Versions),

Madeline Kahn (Both Versions),

Danny DeVito (Both Versions),

Wynton Marsalis (Both Versions),

Jean Marsh (Both Versions),

Andrea Martin (Both Versions),

Itzhak Perlman (Both Versions),

Rhea Perlman (Both Versions),

Pete Seeger (1st Version only),

Paul Simon (Both Versions),

Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Both Versions),

Mookie Wilson (1st Version only),

Mark Ingram (1st Version only),

Sean Landeta (1st Version only),

Carl Banks (1st Version only),

Karl Nelson (1st Version only),

Robert MacNeil (2nd Version only),

Gladys Knight and the pips (2nd Version only),

Phil Donahue (2nd Version only),

Barbara Walters (2nd Version only),

and Joe Williams (Both Versions).

Aside from the added celebrities, another alteration occurred during a sequence where Hoots mentions alternatives to holding the Rubber Duckie while playing the saxophone, such as putting the duck in a drawer or sticking it out the door. In the celebrity version, footage of Rubber Duckie in these situations were shown along with Hoots singing.

This song was featured in Sesame Street, Special, as well as in a self-titled album, Put Down the Duckie! and in the video Sing Yourself Silly. Bob sang it in the album Bob's Favorite Street Songs. Bob also sang a portion of the song in Episode 3085.

In a segment from the 1990s, Ellen DeGeneres listened to this song on a Walkman, explaining to Elmo how portable music players work. This segment led into the "Put Down the Duckie" sketch (starting with the music playing, cutting out the intro).

Audio releases

 * Put Down the Duckie! (1990)
 * Sesame Street Celebrates! (1994)
 * Platinum All-Time Favorites (1995)
 * Sesame Street Best (1997)
 * Songs from the Street (2003)

Video releases

 * Sing Yourself Silly
 * Shalom Sesame Show 11: Kids Sing Israel (partially dubbed in Hebrew as "Sim Et Barvazi")
 * Put Down the Duckie (1994)
 * Sesamestreet.org

Trivia
The idea behind this song has been borrowed by the Institute for Health Realities research organization of Colorado, as the title for its lifelong health newsletter: "The Duckie represents our old habits—which have become habits because they're what make us comfortable. To move forward in life, we have to put down our Duckies -- or lay aside our old habits. Ernie learns it's the first step for him, and it is as well for the rest of us."


 * - PutDownTheDuckie.com