Kung Fu Fighting
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Released 1974
Format Vinyl single
Genre Disco
Length 3:15
Label
Pye (UK and Canada) 20th Century Fox (US)
Songwriter(s) Carl Douglas
Producer(s) Biddu Appaiah
“Kung Fu Fighting” is a disco song by Carl Douglas, with production by Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974 on the cusp of a chopsocky film craze and rose to the top of the British and American charts, in addition to reaching the top of the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
“Kung Fu Fighting” was rated number 100 in VH1’s 100 Greatest one-hit wonders, and number 1 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 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). The producer 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.
After having spent over two hours recording the A-side and then taking a break, “Kung Fu Fighting” was recorded quickly in the last ten minutes of studio time, in only two takes, due to a three-hour time constraint for the entire session. 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.
Following its release, the song didn’t receive any radio airplay for the first five weeks and sold poorly, but the song began gaining popularity in dance clubs, eventually entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 42 on 17 August 1974 and reaching the top on 21 September, where it would remain for three weeks. It was then released in the United States, where it quickly topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single went on to sell eleven million records worldwide