The University Bookstore and Duck Shops across the state now offer two CDs to satisfy the needs of Duck fans everywhere.
The School of Music recently released “Mighty Oregon,” a collection of nearly a dozen versions of the Oregon fight song. The Oregon Marching Band also released its “Fighting Duck Spirit CD,” a collection of different songs the band has performed in addition to the original 1915 fight song.
Music School Publicity Director Scott Barkhurst found different versions of the song in the University’s archival recordings.
“‘Mighty Oregon’ is a great gift for any Duck fan,” he said. “It is great to play at tailgaters before the games.”
The CD includes a 1951 recording of the fight song by the former University Band and University Singers and a “swing” version by the 1998 Green Garter Band. It also has a new “salsa” version recorded this spring in addition to the traditional Oregon Marching Band version.
Extensive liner notes about how composer Albert Perfect wrote the fight song in 1915 also come with the CD.
So far, out of the 5,000 copies in the stores, 2,000 “Mighty Oregon” CDs have been sold. The marching band has also sold 60 percent of the copies of its album.
All of the proceeds of “Mighty Oregon” will go to the University’s music scholarship funds, Barkhurst said. He added that because Sony Disc Manufacturing in Springfield underwrote the production costs of the CD, almost all of the $12.95 cost will go directly to the music school.

Associate Band Director Todd Zimbelman said proceeds from the marching band’s CD go to the Oregon Marching Band Travel and Equipment Fund. The band uses this money to make new equipment purchases, repair and maintain currently owned instruments, and send members of the band to away trips.
Melanie Quigley and Bob Mortenson, cashiers at the bookstore, said lots of different people have been purchasing the popular CDs, including students, faculty and alumni.
“The first day, we ran out of the ‘Mighty Oregon’ CD completely, and we were out for a while,” Quigley said.
Mortenson added that the first batch of marching band CDs sold out, but sales slowed down after the release of “Mighty Oregon.”
“Before ‘Mighty Oregon’ came out, the Oregon Marching Band CD sold really well,” he said. “When ‘Mighty Oregon’ came out, it kind of took over.”
Zimbelman said although the release of “Mighty Oregon” may have taken away from the sales of the marching band CD, its sales go to a good cause.
“The school of music is terribly underfunded,” he said.
Although the marching band CD and “Mighty Oregon” are displayed together in the stores and appear similar, Barkhurst said he does not think either CD overshadows the other.
“I think they complement each other very well,” Barkhurst said. “The CDs are different enough even though they both have the fight song.”