Kung Fu Fighting

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"Kung Fu Fighting"
KungFuFightingCarlDouglas.jpg
Single by Carl Douglas
from the album Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs
B-side "Gamblin' Man"
Released1974
Genre Disco [1] [2]
Length3:15
Label Pye (UK and Canada)
20th Century Fox (US)
Astor (Australia)
Songwriter(s) Carl Douglas
Producer(s) Biddu Appaiah
Carl Douglas singles chronology
"Kung Fu Fighting"
(1974)		"Dance the Kung Fu"
(1975)

"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. [3] It was released in 1974 as the first single from his debut album, Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs (1974), on the cusp of a chopsocky film craze and rose to the top of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American charts, in addition to reaching the top of the Soul Singles chart. [4] It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 [5] and popularized disco music. [6] [ dubious – discuss ] It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, [2] [6] making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.

Contents

"Kung Fu Fighting" was rated number 100 in VH1's 100 Greatest one-hit wonders , and number one in the UK Channel 4's Top 10 One Hit Wonders list in 2000, the same channel's 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders poll in 2006 and Bring Back ... the one-hit Wonders, for which Carl Douglas performed the song in a live concert. The song was covered by CeeLo Green with Jack Black [7] and The Vamps for the first and third films of the Kung Fu Panda franchise respectively. [8]

Background and composition

The song was originally meant to be a B-side to "I Want to Give You My Everything" (written by Brooklyn songwriter Larry Weiss and sung by Carl Douglas). [9] [10] Biddu originally hired Douglas to sing "I Want to Give You My Everything" but needed something to record for the B-side, and asked Douglas if he had any lyrics they could use. Douglas showed several, out of which Biddu chose the one that would later be called "Kung Fu Fighting" and worked out a melody for it without taking it too seriously. [3]

After more than two hours recording the A-side and then time for a break, there were only ten minutes of studio time remaining [3] due to a three-hour time constraint for the entire session, so only two takes of "Kung Fu Fighting" were recorded. [6] According to Biddu, "'Kung Fu Fighting' was the B-side so I went over the top on the 'huhs' and the 'hahs' and the chopping sounds. It was a B-side: who was going to listen?" After hearing both songs, Robin Blanchflower of Pye Records insisted that "Kung Fu Fighting" be the A-side instead. [6]

Following its release, the song did not receive any radio airplay for the first five weeks and sold poorly, but the song began gaining popularity in dance clubs, [3] eventually entering the UK Singles Chart at number 42 on 17 August 1974 and reaching the top on 21 September, where it remained for three weeks. [11] It was then released in the United States, where it quickly topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [3] The single went on to sell eleven million records worldwide. [6] At the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) Jukebox Awards in 1975, the song was awarded "Jukebox Soul Record of the Year" for being the year's highest-earning soul music song played on jukebox machines in the United States. [12] The song was featured in the 1981 film, This Is Elvis .

Charts

Sales and certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [41] Gold500,000^
United States (RIAA) [42] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Track listing

  1. "Kung Fu Fighting" – 3:15
  2. "Gamblin' Man" – 3:03

Bus Stop version

"Kung Fu Fighting"
Kung Fu Fighting by Bus Stop.jpg
Single by Bus Stop featuring Carl Douglas
from the album Ticket to Ride
Released11 May 1998 (1998-05-11) [43]
Genre Eurodance [44]
Length3:45
Label All Around the World (UK)
Songwriter(s) Carl Douglas
Producer(s)
  • Graham Turner
  • Mark Hall
Bus Stop singles chronology
"Kung Fu Fighting"
(1998)		"You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet"
(1998)

British dance act Bus Stop reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart [45] with their 1998 remix single of "Kung Fu Fighting", which sampled the original vocals by Carl Douglas and added rap verses. In Australia, the single received a gold certification from ARIA. [46]

Charts

Sales and certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [59] Gold35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [60] Platinum10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [61] Gold400,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs is the debut studio album by Jamaican disco artist Carl Douglas. It reached number one on the Billboard Soul LPs chart and number 37 on Billboard's overall Top LPs & Tape chart in 1975. In Europe, Asia, Africa and South America the album was released under the name Kung Fu Fighter.

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Carl Douglas – Artist Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 Browne, Malika (20 August 2004). "It's a big step from disco to Sanskrit chants, but Biddu has made it". The Sunday Times . London. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Bronson, Fred (1988). "Kung Fu Fighting". The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th ed.). Billboard Books. ISBN   0-8230-7641-5 . Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Carl Douglas – Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Kung Fu Fighting". RIAA . Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Ellis, James (27 October 2009). "Biddu". Metro . Retrieved 17 April 2011.[ unreliable source ]
  7. ↑ Cohen, Jonathan (12 May 2008). "Jack Black, Cee-Lo cover 'Kung Fu Fighting'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 17 May 2008.
  8. ↑ Rees, Katrina (16 December 2015). "The Vamps are Kung Fu Fighting". CelebMix. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas". Songfacts. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 385.
  11. ↑ "Carl Douglas". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "Freddy Fender captures top JB awards, will play for MOA stage show". Play Meter . Vol. 1, no. 10. October 1975. p. 22. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Australia No. 1 hits -- 1970's". World Charts. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
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  18. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Kung Fu Fighting". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
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  21. ↑ Scapolo, Dean (2007). The Complete New Zealand Music Charts: 1966–2006. Maurienne House. p. 14. ISBN   978-1877443-00-8.
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  31. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1974" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
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