"Eat My Shorts" by Rick Dees

Song#:  2159
Date:  12/15/1984
Debut:  77
Peak:  75
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Novelty, Comedy



Pop Bits:  Radio personality Rick Dees worked for several stations around the country before landing a gig at a station in Memphis. While there, he wrote and recorded the song "Disco Duck," which went on to become a #1 song in 1976. He later landed at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles where he remained for twenty-three years. Along the way, Dee continued to record comedy/novelty records. His 1983 album Hurt Me Baby - Make Me Write Bad Checks! would get nominated for a Grammy for Best Comedy Album. The following year he issued his next LP titled Put It Where the Sun Don't Shine. A track from the album, "Get Nekked," would be released as a single. It wasn't catching on, but the 45's flip side, "Eat My Shorts," started to get some attention and it was enough to get the song on the Pop chart for a few short weeks. Dees would record a couple more comedy albums and would later host his own late night talk show in 1990 for a season (Into the Night Starring Rick Dees). In 2004, Dees left KIIS due to a contract dispute. He was replaced by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. Dees still hosts his long-running syndicated program Weekly Top 40.

ReduxReview:  I guess like beauty, humor is in the ears of the beholder. This beholder finds nothing funny with this song. I never understood the attraction to Dees. He's fine as a DJ, but as a comedian, no. For me, "Disco Duck" was one of the biggest turds to ever hit #1. Why folks found it even remotely funny or interesting still boggles my mind. This "song" belongs in the same toilet that held "Disco Duck." Everything about it is awful and not even close to being funny. I could barely stand one listen. It's practically painful to hear. I'm very thankful that this is the one and only time I have to cover a Dee's song in this project. I can't even give it a 1 out of 10.

ReduxRating:  0/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) If you happen to think this was inspired by the famous Bart Simpson catchphrase, it wasn't. The Simpson's didn't make their first appearance on TV until 1987 in short spots during The Tracey Ullman Show. Then The Simpsons animated program premiered in 1989.  2) Also included on Dee's Put It album was a track called "When Sonny Sniffs Glue." A portion of the track contains a parody of the Johnny Mathis version of the standard "When Sunny Gets Blue." Dees sought permission from the song's copyright owner to use it in the parody, but the use was denied. Dees still went ahead and used it and was then sued. The court case ended with Dees winning. The judge determined that since the track was making fun of Mathis' style of singing, it didn't violate copyright laws. An appeal resulted in the same decision.

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