1975 single by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
"The Hustle " is a
disco song by
songwriter /
arranger
Van McCoy and
the Soul City Symphony . It went to No. 1 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 and
Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975.
[3] It also peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian
RPM charts, No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK.
[4]
[5] It would eventually sell over one million copies.
[5] The song won the
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.
History
While in
New York City to make an album,
McCoy composed the song after his music partner,
Charles Kipps , watched patrons do a dance known as "
the Hustle " in the nightclub Adam's Apple. The sessions were done at New York's
Mediasound Studios with pianist McCoy, bassist Gordon Edwards, drummer
Steve Gadd , keyboardist
Richard Tee , guitarists
Eric Gale and
John Tropea , and orchestra leader
Gene Orloff . Producer
Hugo Peretti contracted multi-woodwind player
Phil Bodner to play the
piccolo lead melody.[
citation needed ]
On the week of May 16, 1975, "The Hustle" entered the
Radio & Records Trend chart at no. 38.
[6] The following week, "The Hustle" entered the Radio & Records Pop/30 chart at no. 30.
[7]
During the summer of 1975, "The Hustle" became a No. 1 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100 and
Hot Soul Singles charts.
[3] Billboard ranked it as the
No. 21 song for 1975 . It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the
UK Singles Chart .
[4]
[5]
According to producers
Hugo & Luigi , who owned the
Avco
record label that originally released "The Hustle", McCoy met with them shortly before his death in 1979 to discuss ideas for a new, longer version of the song, in order to appease Avco's UK and German affiliates who were clamoring for a 12" disco single release.
[8] The new version, clocking in at just under six and a half minutes, was assembled posthumously as a remix, using parts of the original recording plus new parts, including drum,
Syndrum , and a "little"
Moog synthesizer .
[8] It was credited to Van McCoy alone or with an unnamed orchestra, mixed by "The Mix Masters", identity unknown.
[9]
Appearances in other media
The song has been featured in numerous movies, such as
Stuck on You ,
Vampires Suck , and
The Lorax , and television shows including the
Shark Tale short film
Club Oscar ,
That '70s Show ,
SMG4 ,
Speechless ,
American Dad! , and
Futurama .
[10]
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Chart (1975)
Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)
[11]
78
Canada
[24]
9
New Zealand
[25]
19
UK
[26]
16
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
[27]
21
U.S. Cash Box
[28]
18
Certifications and sales
Other versions
Italian rapper Talko made a rap cover of "The Hustle". It was released in 1983 on Babalu Records.
[33]
Filipino comedienne
Rufa Mae Quinto covered this song as "Booba (Do The Hustle)", which served as the theme song of the 2001 film
Booba . Her version was included on her album Rated R from
Viva Records .
[34]
In 2023 the American composer Joseph Shirley covered this song as "Hustle Dimension", which appeared in the 2023 DreamWorks Animation American animated jukebox musical comedy film
Trolls Band Together .
[35]
References
^
"Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony – Disco Baby" . Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-09-17 .
^ Smith, Troy L. (14 December 2021).
"Every No. 1 song of the 1970s ranked from worst to best" .
Cleveland.com . Retrieved 30 January 2023 .
^
a
b
Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004 . Record Research. p. 388.
^
a
b Steffen Hung.
"Forum - One Hit Wonders (General: Music/Charts related)" . Australian-charts.com . Archived from
the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
a
b
c
d Roberts, David (2006).
British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 338.
ISBN
1-904994-10-5 .
^ Radio & Record , VOL 3., NUMBER 19 FRIDAY MAY 16, 1975 -
Page 36 Radio & Records THE INDUSTRY'S NEWS PAPER, TREND: MAY 16, 1975
^ Radio & Records , VOL 3., NUMBER 20 FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1975 -
Page 36 RADIO & RECORDS POP, Radio & Records POP/30
^
a
b "Label preparing 12-inch 'Hustle' ".
Billboard . July 21, 1979. p. 86.
^ "
The Hustle (Disco Mix) " at
Discogs (list of releases)
^
"The Hustle: Across Media" . July 2, 2018.
^
a
b
"National Top 100 Singles for 1975" .
Kent Music Report . December 29, 1975. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via
Imgur .
^ Steffen Hung.
"Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle" . Austriancharts.at . Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
"Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle" . Ultratop.be . Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide . Music Data Canada.
^
"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada" . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2019-07-05 .
^
https://chartssinglestop40france.blogspot.com/2017/08/23-nov-1975.html
^
"InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste" . Archived from
the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2013-07-19 .
^
"Home - Offizielle Deutsche Charts" . Officialcharts.de . 2016-09-30. Archived from
the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^ "
The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Hustle" .
Irish Singles Chart . Retrieved November 15, 2017.
^ Steffen Hung.
"Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle" . charts.nz . Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
"South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (M)" . Rock.co.za. Retrieved 8 September 2018 .
^
Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 . Record Research. p. 158.
^
"Top 100 1975-07-19" .
Cashbox Magazine . Retrieved 2016-06-14 .
^
"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada" . collectionscanada.gc.ca .
^
"Top Selling Singles of 1975 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart" . Nztop40.co.nz . 1975-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
"Britain's best selling records of '75" (JPG) . Scans.chartarchive.org . Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
"Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975" . Musicoutfitters.com . Retrieved 2016-10-10 .
^
"Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975" .
Cashbox Magazine . Retrieved 2015-01-17 .
^
"Canadian single certifications – Van McCoy – The Hustle" .
Music Canada . Retrieved February 25, 2022 .
^
"Big Resurgence Of Japan" .
Billboard . Vol. 88, no. 51. December 18, 1976. p. 18.
ISSN
0006-2510 . Retrieved February 25, 2022 .
^
"British single certifications – Van Mccoy – The Hustle" .
British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved February 25, 2022 .
^
"American single certifications – Van Mc Coy – The Hustle" .
Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved February 25, 2022 .
^
"Talko's The Hustle Rap on YouTube" . Youtube.com.
Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2013-09-17 .
^
"Rufa Mae Quinto: A sex bomb on the loose - CONVERSATIONS with Ricky F. Lo" .
The Philippine STAR .
^
"Joseph Shirley Trolls Band Together - KiDS Movie by DreamWorks" .
YouTube Music .
External links