Reply With QuoteI do remember the story goes that Van McCoy did not even know what "the hustle" was and had to be shown two dancers doing it.
And that he wrote it in about 10 minutes.
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
1975 - Van McCoy's "The Hustle" is released and takes over the music industry.(?)
Can anyone comment more on this entry into the Disco timeline? I'm making a list of the most important dance records of all time and The Hustle would be an obvious choice but I've yet to find any data that matches the entry here. Can anyone post more info backing that entry up?
Gold Record [Level 7]
I do remember the story goes that Van McCoy did not even know what "the hustle" was and had to be shown two dancers doing it.
And that he wrote it in about 10 minutes.
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
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Have you tried the '74-'75 Compilation/Consensus charts ???
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Baby, take me
high upon a hillside
high up where the stallion
meets the sun
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
Not quite following you. I'm looking for the impact of the record. As was stated "Van McCoy's "The Hustle" is released and takes over the music industry". I'm looking to see what is meant by this.
Is this just in chart success? Did it help implement couple and line dancing? Was it important because like TSOP it was one of the few instrumentals to chart so well? Was in monumental in furthering Disco's evolution?
All I have in terms of real info on wiki is this:
"Unexpectedly, the single "The Hustle" from the album, written about the dance of the same name and recorded last for the album, went to the top of the Billboard pop charts, and won a Grammy. McCoy, then regarded a disco hitmaker, never repeated the success of the song."
#1 on Billboard July 26,1975 (1 week)
"A line dance which was called Hustle became an international dance craze in 1975 following Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony's "Hustle". Tipped off by DJ David Todd, McCoy sent his partner Charlie Kipps to the Adam's Apple discotheque of New York City's East Side. The forthcoming album was renamed Disco Baby and McCoy was named "Top Instrumental Artist" of 1975. (Jones and Kantonen, 1999).-WIKI
So any additional info from any poster here that can paint a broader record of this song's impact?
Chart Hit [Level 6]
It seems to me that the song had a memorable melody and hook line "Do The Hustle!" which resonated very well with audiences everywhere. Plus, the dance for which it was attributed to had mass appeal, for it was nostalgic in the sense that it brought back the idea of couples dancing together as opposed to freestyle, which had been the norm since the mid-'60s perhaps.
"The Hustle" also reached #1 on the Billboard Soul charts on July 12, 1975, staying there for 1 week.
"Everyone knows the real reason why you got that part it was the time you spent on that casting couch"--Antoine Merriwether
"Excuse me, Miss Thing, but both of us spent time on that couch"--Blaine Edwards
Platinum Record [Level 8]
It may just have been someone's opinion. I mean, there are people out there who think Rap was started by Blondie doing Rapture. The Hustle is definitely one of those dance tunes that people instantly recognize and associate with the old disco sound, along with Stayin Alive by The Bees, etc... It probably got a lot of promotional money by the record company, versus earlier disco tunes, hence it's wider appeal. I think it was also one of those tunes that not only young people could enjoy, but old people too. But if your looking for some kind of quantitative evidence to back up the statement, I don't know if you'll be able to get it.
Disco Funk
No Longer Charting
The Hustle was certainly a BIG record. For a few weeks you couldn't get away from it. Its impact was only slightly more tangible than most other #1 Disco hits, mainly due to the dance emerging into the mainstream at about the same time.
Personally, I've never accepted the reasoning that it was a blueprint for most that followed, or a landmark Disco record because
(1) Most big Disco hits were vocal workouts.
(2) The rhythm pattern was almost exclusive to the tune and/or Van McCoy.
(3) There weren't hundreds and hundreds of clones in the months that followed.
(4) The instrumentation wasn't copied ad infinitum on subsequent releases.
(5) It wasn't really a NOW sound of the time. It sounded terribly passe on the first time of hearing.
I never quite understood why it was so fully embraced.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Maybe because it had a universal sound, which as everybody knows is anathema to Soul snobs.Originally Written by QUINNY
"Everyone knows the real reason why you got that part it was the time you spent on that casting couch"--Antoine Merriwether
"Excuse me, Miss Thing, but both of us spent time on that couch"--Blaine Edwards
No Longer Charting
Hey! I was well out of my teenage years when it was released, but even I thought it sounded somewhat 'old hat'. Gawd knows what some of the 'kids' thought about it. I could admire the production on the record, I could admit to it being very catchy, I could especially like it 'cos it filled the dancefloor, but.........cutting edge Disco it wasn't. There's NO soul snobbery in that remark whatsoever.
Gold Record [Level 7]
Reputation is based on how others see you.
Not how you see yourself.:icon_rolleyes:
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
I'm a bit weird I know but I always preferred Van's 'The Shuffle' to the The Hustle.:icon_confused: However, I remember listening to it on the radio when it came out in '77 & this was the first time I encountered 'anti-disco' comment from someone in the media; after playing the track the DJ called the track 'disco dross' & I was quite mystified by this as I thought it was great.Before that I'd only heard negative comments about disco from kids at school or my brothers. Being gay this attitude to my favourite music just made me feel even more isolated.:icon_cry: Still, now I'm 42 I realise that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
...ya gotta beat the street......
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