Irwin the Disco Duck, a.k.a. Irwin the Dynamic Duck, is a fictional character who was featured on a series of children's records from Peter Pan Records.Peter Pan Records discography He's depicted as an anthropomorphic white duck with a head of brown hair, usually dressed in 1970s-style clothes (platform shoes, bell-bottoms, et cetera). The character was created by artist George Peed in 1976.

Despite the similarity in both sound and appearance to Donald Duck, Irwin the Disco Duck had no affiliation to the more widely known character of The Walt Disney Company.

History Inspired by the novelty song "Disco Duck", Peter Pan put out a series of children's records starting in 1976 that were compilations of popular songs of the time. The fictional "host" of the albums was Irwin the Disco Duck, whose name would be altered to Irwin the Dynamic Duck when disco fell out of fashion. None of the songs were by the original artists; according to the album cover, they were being performed by "The Wibble Wobble Singers and Orchestra." Some of the songs featured Irwin singing, but more often he functioned as the album's disc jockey, introducing the songs.Disco Duck Dance Party at Way Out Junk

While numerous voice actors played Irwin throughout this series, the most notable is Don Messick of Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon fame, the original voice of Scooby-Doo and other such characters as Papa Smurf, Boo-Boo, Astro (of The Jetsons), Dr. Benton Quest and Bamm-Bamm. His Irwin voice was similar to many Hanna-Barbera and Rankin/Bass characters, including Pixie, Scrappy-Doo and Snip (in Jack Frost).

Irwin's hair, wardrobe and DJ persona are all reflections of American radio personality Rick Dees, who wrote and recorded the "Disco Duck" song on which this series was based.

Record list

Album Year Pr. # Disco Duck Dance Party 1976 8191 Irwin the Disco Duck Dance Party II 1977 8195 Alley Cat and Chicken FatAlley Cat and Chicken Fat at Way Out Junk 1977 8196 Irwin the Disco Duck Christmas & New Years Party 1977 8203 Duck Wars: Big Hits Dance PartyDuck Wars at Discogs.com 1978 8206 Disco Fever for All Ages 1978 8223 Irwin the Disco Duck in The NavyIn the Navy at Discogs.com 1979 8235 Irwin Strikes Back January 4, 1980 1117 Big Hits Dance Party December 10, 1980 1112

Note: A two-part comic starring Irwin and his girlfriend Debbi is on the back of two album covers; part one is on the back of "Irwin the Disco Duck Dance Party II," and part two is on the back of "Alley Cat and Chicken Fat."

References