The Hustle by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
1975 -
The father of the Hustle-Dancing on AVCO AV 4601
The archetype of
"cheesy" 70's disco music. Van arranged many bands throughout the 60's
and 70's, including Melba Moore, The Stylistics, and Gladys Knight & the
Pips. After releasing a few marginally successful records in the early 70's
(including "From disco to love" which contains the brilliant disco
song "Soul improvisations") he released the single "The
hustle" in 1975. It was an instant international success and sold over 8
million copies worldwide. Although Van, interviewed a year later, claimed he had
no idea what the hustle dance was... Many releases over the next two years were
very good disco tunes ("Jet setting", "Party") but failed to
make much impact. Finally, his last big UK hit in 1977 was "The
Shuffle" which was nearly as successful as the hustle - so much so that
even to this day you can hear it as the theme to the Sports Report on BBC radio
4. He released little in 1978 after switching to the MCA label, and died young
of a heart attack in 1979, effectively dying with disco.
The Hustle by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
1975 -