Kung Fu Fighting

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"Kung Fu Fighting"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Carl Douglas
from the album Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs
B-side"Gamblin' Man"
ReleasedAugust 1974
GenreDisco[1][2]
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LabelPye (UK and Canada)
20th Century Fox (US)
Astor (Australia)
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Carl Douglas
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Biddu Appaiah
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"Kung Fu Fighting"
(1974) 		"Dance the Kung Fu"
(1975)

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"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by the Jamaican-British 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.

"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 (using different lyrics) 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 Douglas's song "I Want to Give You My Everything" (written by Larry Weiss).[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, and Biddu chose the one that would later be called "Kung Fu Fighting" and worked out a melody but did not take the song 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. This meant 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. However, "Kung Fu Fighting" began gaining popularity in dance clubs,[3] eventually entered the UK Singles Chart at number 42 on 17 August 1974, and peaked at number 1 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

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Sales and certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 500,000 
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 2,000,000 
Worldwide — 11,000,000 

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Track listing

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

Bus Stop version

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"Kung Fu Fighting"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Bus Stop featuring Carl Douglas
from the album Ticket to Ride
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GenreEurodance[35]
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LabelAll Around the World (UK)
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Carl Douglas
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  • Graham Turner
  • Mark Hall
Bus Stop singles chronology
"Kung Fu Fighting"
(589) 		"You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet"
(1998)

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British dance act Bus Stop reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart[36] 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.[37] The song was featured in the 1999 film Bowfinger and 2001 film Shaolin Soccer.[38]

Charts

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Sales and certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Gold 35,000 
New Zealand (RMNZ)[45] Platinum 0 
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Gold 400,000 

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

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Carl Douglas – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Kung Fu Fighting". RIAA. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ellis, James (27 October 2009). "Biddu". Metro. Retrieved 17 April 2011. [unreliable source]
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rees, Katrina (16 December 2015). "The Vamps are Kung Fu Fighting". CelebMix. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas". Songfacts. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 385.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Carl Douglas". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."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.
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  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Carl Douglas". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 66. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
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  33. ^ Script error: No such module "cite".
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  35. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Anderson, Jason (2 November 2012). "Kung Fu hip hop: the legend continues". Toronto Star. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference UK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  46. ^ Script error: No such module "cite". Select singles in the Formats field. Type Kung Fu Fighting Bus Stop ft Carl Douglas in the "Search:" field.

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