*On this day in 1974, Carl Douglas began a two-week reign at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Kung Fu Fighting,” a song that was recorded in 10 minutes with only two takes, and was actually a B-side that went on to sell 11 million records worldwide.
Douglas, now 80, was a 32-year-old session singer for Pye Records when he recorded “Kung Fu Fighting.” Based in the UK, the Jamaican singer-songwriter was originally hired by British-Indian musician Biddu to record a track called “I Want to Give You My Everything,” written by Brooklyn songwriter Larry Weiss. Douglas recorded that track.
After spending two hours of their three-hour recording session on “I Want to Give You My Everything,” they needed to hurry up and record a B-side before being kicked out of the building. Biddu asked Douglas if he had any lyrics they could use. Douglas showed Biddu several ideas, including a set of lyrics inspired by two kids he saw in London doing Kung Fu moves. Biddu chose those lyrics, with just 10 minutes to spare. He quickly came up with a melody, and they went into the booth.
In an interview with Metro in 2004, Biddu recalled saying at the time: “‘Quick guys, we need to record the B-side in two takes.’ 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? I played the A-side to the guy at Pye Records, Robin Blanchflower, and he said: ‘Can I listen to the rest of the reel?’ When he heard it, he said: ‘This should be the A-side.'”
So “Kung Fu Fighting” was released as the A-side in 1974.
As one would expect for a novelty record, the music industry initially dismissed “Kung Fu Fighting.” It received zero radio airplay for the first five weeks, and sold just a handful of units during that time.
But then disco clubs in the UK began spinning the record, and the song slowly gained traction – first entering the UK singles chart at No. 42 in August, then earning a 3-week run at No. 1 there in September. On December 7, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., and went on to win the Jukebox Soul Record of the Year for being the highest-earning soul music song played on jukebox machines in the United States.
Its reference to “funky Chinamen” and the overall cultural appropriation are disturbingly cringeworthy, but were not means for social cancellation in 1974. “Kung Fu Fighting” in fact became a global sensation and one of the biggest selling records of all time.
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