the song, written by jeff moss and arranged by joe raposo, was first heard by children watching an episode of "sesame street" on february 25, 1970. it was popular enough to be recorded as a 45 rpm single and became a surprise mainstream hit, peaking at #16 on the "billboard" hot 100 on september 26, 1970. it was nominated for the best recording for children grammy in 1971 but lost out to the album "the sesame street book & record", which contained the song. the song had follow-ups "do de rubber duck" and "d-u-c-k-i-e" and was the centerpiece of 1988's "put down the duckie", performed by hoots the owl but also featuring ernie.