The Hustle (song)

Last updated
"The Hustle"
The Hustle - Van McCoy.jpg
Single by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
from the album Disco Baby [1]
B-side "Hey Girl, Come and Get It"
ReleasedApril 18, 1975
Recorded 1975
Studio Mediasound, New York City
Genre
Length3:29 (single version)
4:10 (album version)
Label Avco Records
Songwriter(s) Van McCoy
Producer(s) Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore
Music video
"The Hustle" on YouTube

"The Hustle" is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975. [3] It also peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian RPM charts, No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK. [4] [5] It would eventually sell over one million copies. [5] The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.

Contents

History

While in New York City to make an album, McCoy composed the song after his music partner, Charles Kipps, watched patrons do a dance known as "the Hustle" in the nightclub "Adam's Apple." The sessions were done at New York's Mediasound Studios with pianist McCoy, bassist Gordon Edwards, drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and John Tropea, and orchestra leader Gene Orloff. Producer Hugo Peretti contracted multi-woodwind player Phil Bodner to play the piccolo lead melody.[ citation needed ]

On the week of May 16, 1975, "The Hustle" entered the Radio & Records Trend chart at no. 38. [6] The following week, "The Hustle" entered the Radio & Records Pop/30 chart at no. 30. [7]

During the summer of 1975, "The Hustle" became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. [3] Billboard ranked it as the No. 22 song for 1975. It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. [4] [5] On popular New York City Top 40 station 770 WABC, "The Hustle" was the #1 song for the year 1975, after spending five weeks in the top spot on WABC's weekly charts. [8]

According to producers Hugo & Luigi, who owned the Avco record label that originally released "The Hustle", McCoy met with them shortly before his death in 1979. He wanted to discuss ideas for a new, longer version of the song, in order to appease Avco's UK and German affiliates who were clamoring for a 12" disco single release. [9] The new version, clocking in at just under six and a half minutes, was assembled posthumously as a remix, using parts of the original recording plus new parts, including drum, Syndrum, and a "little" Moog synthesizer. [9] It was credited to Van McCoy alone or with an unnamed orchestra, mixed by "The Mix Masters", identity unknown. [10]

Appearances in other media

The song has been featured in numerous movies, such as Stuck on You , Vampires Suck , and The Lorax , and television shows including the Shark Tale short film Club Oscar , That '70s Show , SMG4 , Speechless , American Dad! , and Futurama . [11]

Chart performance

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [31] Gold75,000^
Japan500,000 [32]
United Kingdom (BPI) [33] Silver250,000^
United States (RIAA) [34] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

Related Research Articles

The Hustle is a catch-all name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Late 1970s, Bump, Hustle, Watergate and Spank were popular. It mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in nightclubs to disco music. Hustle has steps in common with Mambo and Salsa and basic steps are somewhat similar to Euro dance style Discofox, which emerged at about the same time and is more familiar in various European countries. Modern partner hustle is sometimes referred to as New York hustle, however, its original name is the Latin hustle.

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