THIS DAY IN HISTORY: "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas (Sep. 21, 1974)

"Kung Fu Fighting" was at No.1 on the UK singles chart for Carl Douglas on this date of September 21st in 1974. The song was recorded in 10 minutes, had started out as a B-side and went on to sell over 10 million and made Douglas a One Hit Wonder.


The Original Video



Video with lyrics



"Kung Fu Fighting"

Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah

[Chorus:]
Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting
Those kicks were fast as lightning
In fact, it was a little bit frightening
But they fought with expert timing

There was funky China men from funky Chinatown
They were chopping them up
They were chopping them down
It's an ancient Chinese art
And everybody knew their part
From a fainting, to a slip
And a kickin' from the hip
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
But they fought with expert timing

There was funky Billie Chin and little Sammy Chong
He said, here comes the big boss, let's get it on
We took the bow and made a stand
Started swaying with the hand
A sudden motion made me skip
Now we're into a brand new trip

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
But they did it with expert timing

Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh, ha
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh, ha
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-ha
Keep on, keep on, keep on
Sure enough
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
Make sure you have expert timing
Kung Fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning...


“Kung Fu Fighting” was written by Carl Douglas and Biddu Appaiah (who also produced the song).

The song was originally meant to be the B-side to the track “I Want to Give You My Everything.”

Biddu originally hired Carl to sing the song, but he needed something to record for the B-side of the record and he asked Carl if he had any lyrics they could use.

Carl chose the lyrics that would be called “Kung Fu Fighting” and worked on a melody for it without taking it too seriously.

[Due to a three-hour time constraint at the recording studio, the song was quickly recorded in the last ten minutes of the session.

At first, the song didn’t get any airplay on the radio for the first five weeks, but it later became popular in dance clubs.

“Kung Fu Fighting” topped the charts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Africa.]

It became Carl Douglas' only hit to date, making him a “one-hit wonder.”


NOTE: Kind appreciation to my friend Robert R. for the heads-up!