The song recorded as an afterthought that sold 11 million copies in 1974
For most artists, the first single of their debut album isn’t going to be the crowning achievement, because finding your individual story in an oversaturated industry takes time, expertise, and money, but for Jamaican-British vocalist Carl Douglas, the first single from his debut album would smash expectations out of the water.
The story begins with Douglas and British-Indian producer and musician Biddu butting heads in a studio. They’d only paid for three hours of recording time, and the minutes were quickly dwindling. Biddu had originally hired Douglas to sing ‘I Want to Give You My Everything’, but needed something to record for the B-side, and fast.
Surreptitiously, he asked Douglas if he had any lyrics that they might use for the final few minutes of the session. Biddu thought one set of lyrics was particularly charming. Of course, this song would later be called ‘Kung Fu Fighting’. With ten minutes to go, only two takes of ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ were ever recorded. 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?”
It was an oversight to say the least. The pair took both songs to Robin Blanchflower at Pye Records, who took one listen to both tracks and made his decision instantly, insisting that ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ be the A-side instead.
For five weeks, Biddu harboured his resentment towards Blanchflower because sales were incredibly low, and the song received no radio airplay at all; things were looking dire. However, slowly but surely, the catchy track began picking up traction in dance clubs.
At once feel-good and charmingly eccentric while retaining the core components of disco and soul, the song quickly became a crowd pleaser, first entering the UK Singles Chart at number 42 in August 1974, and subsequently peaking at number one in September.
Capitalising on the track sitting in the coveted top spot for three weeks straight, it was then released in the US, where it topped the Billboard Hot 100, and what once began as a silly afterthought, sold 11million records worldwide.
Beyond dance halls and nightclubs, it became a fast favourite in more casual haunts, too. The gaudy, clap-along nature of the track was perfect for the Jukebox; 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
You and I are more likely to know the song from the world of neon lights and powdered noses, when it appeared in the 1981 film This Is Elvis, or, depending on what your bag is, CeeLo Green and Jack Black’s rock-inflected Kung Fu Panda cover might be circling through your mind right now. Hey, I don’t judge.
