AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Carl Douglas

Artist:Carl Douglas

Song:Kung Fu Fighting

Album:Pure Funk

The 1974 single Kung Fu Fighting topped the charts worldwide. Today it is perceived as a one hit wonder though technically it is not a one hit  wonder as one of Carl Douglas' other singles charted. And a few of his songs charted in England. As you will see, the record was a fluke hit that was slapped on the B side of something else. Douglas was born May 10, 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica. He grew up in California and then he moved to London, England. He sang but Douglas planned to be an audio engineer. His band Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede released a couple of singles in the 60s. While living in Spain, Carl Douglas & The Explosions released a couple of singles. After Douglas returned to London, he released singles on Buddah, CBS and Island's Blue Mountain label. And that led to studio work with Pye Records. Producer Biddu Appaiah worked with Douglas on the soundtrack of the 1972 film Embassy. He asked Douglas to sing the song I Want To Give You My Everything. But he needed a B side. So he asked Douglas if he had any lyrics they could use. Kung Fu Fighting was recorded in ten minutes. It was an afterthought. After Biddu gave the single to Pye, they liked Kung Fu Fighting enough to make it the A side. The song gained a following in British dance clubs and then it topped the British Singles chart. It was picked up in the US by 20th Century Records and topped the Billboard Hot 100. Kung Fu Fighting sold 11M copies and it was named 1975 Jukebox Soul Record of the Year at the Jukebox Awards. The album Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs topped the Soul LPs chart. The single Dance the Kung Fu reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. Douglas released three albums but was unable to repeat the success of Kung Fu Fighting. Douglas released a 2014 album and continues to release singles. Here's Carl Douglas performing Kung Fu Fighting on Top Of The Pops 1974.