Carl Douglas
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Carl Douglas (born 10 May 1942) is a Jamaican-born, UK-based former singer, best known for his song "Kung Fu Fighting", which hit number one in both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. It was awarded gold status by the RIAA on 27 November 1974, and won a Grammy Award for Best Selling Single in that year's event.[1] It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide,[2][3] making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.
The song, which is a homage to martial arts films, has overshadowed the rest of the Douglas' career, resulting in his appearance on cover versions of the song. He did release two other singles ("Blue Eyed Soul" and "Dance the Kung Fu", which was sampled by DJ Premier on his 2007 remix of Nike's 25th Air Force One anniversary single "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)", featuring Kanye West, Nas, KRS-One and Rakim) but he has ultimately become known in recording history as an example of a one hit wonder.
He was at one time managed by Eric Woolfson,[4] later the primary songwriter behind The Alan Parsons Project.
In 1998, a re-recording of "Kung Fu Fighting", billed as 'Bus Stop featuring Carl Douglas', reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.[5]
He now resides in Hamburg, Germany, where he runs Schacht Musik Verlage (SMV), a publishing company that coordinates films, documentaries, and advertisements.[6][7][8]
[edit] See also
- Kung Fu Fighting
- Biddu
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of disco artists (A-E)
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
[edit] References
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 344. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ James Ellis. "Biddu". Metro. http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/interviews/412-biddu. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ Malika Browne (20 August 2004). "It's a big step from disco to Sanskrit chants, but Biddu has made it". The Sunday Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article471655.ece. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
- ^ Eric Woolfson Obituary, The Independent
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 167. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Silverspoon.de. "Kung Fu Fighting". Carl Douglas. http://carl-douglas.com/. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
- ^ "SMV | Schacht Musik Verlage". Smv.de. http://www.smv.de/. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
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