Now living in London once more, he reflected on the international success of "Kung Fu Fighting." "If I had a theory why the record was a hit, I'd have more hits! You never know whey a record is a hit. He returned home to India to compose music for films as well as recordings. He continued to have hits in England, where "Run Back" made the Top 30 in 1977.īiddu released several instrumental disco albums and produced another British number one hit, "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" by Tina Charles. Eight weeks later it had battled its way to the top of the magazine's Hot 100 pop chart.ĭouglas, a former engineering student, only managed one follow-up in America, the similarly-constructed "Dance the Kung Fu," number 48 in March, 1975. The week that it yielded the number one position in Britain to John Denver's "Annie's Song," it entered the Billboard chart at number 94. "Kung Fu Fighting" was picked up for American release by 20th Century Records. It went to number one all around the world. And then suddenly, it just took off from the (dance) clubs and it went to number one. "The first five weeks, we didn't get one play on radio," Biddu recollects. So Pye released the single in Britain and waited for the results. Karate was fashionable in the '70s, but kung fu was even bigger - Bruce Lee had popularized the ancient martial art at the box office. The record company thought it would do better than that. Biddu responded, "If you really think so, although I think it's the kind of song that might sell 20,000 records." They thought it was good enough to release as an "A" side. "It's just a fun thing," Biddu warned, but the label didn't laugh. He presented the Weiss song to Pye Records' A&R chief, who liked it, but wanted to hear the flip side as well. "We did a lot of 'hoos!' and 'haas!' like someone giving somebody a karate chop," Biddu explains. With only 10 minutes of studio time left, "Kung Fu Fighting" was recorded quickly. 2002, Sanctuary/Castle Records released the Douglas compilation Soul of the Kung Fu Fighter (above) on compact disc. Nothing was taken seriously."Ĭarl Douglas' irreverently titled 1974 LP Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 200 and spent a total of 17 weeks on the charts. had the lyrics for 'Kung Fu Fighting.' Since it was going to be a 'B' side, I said, 'Fine, we'll have a song called 'Kung Fu Fighting.' So I started working out some melody for it. "He rattled off about four or five songs that he had written. "I asked Carl if he had any lyrics," Biddu recalls. The Weiss song was intended for the "A" side of a single, and Biddu needed something to record for the "B" side. Thinking that Douglas might be right for Weiss' "I Want to Give You My Everything," Biddu gave him a call. Two years earlier, Biddu had composed the music for the film Embassy starring Richard ( Shaft) Roundtree and through friends had met Jamaican singer Carl Douglas, whom he hired to sing the title song. It may be based on Kung Fu.Iddu, an Indian-born producer living in London, was looking for a singer to record a tune by Brooklyn songwriter Larry Weiss (also the composer of Glen Campbell's 1975 number one smash "Rhinestone Cowboy") in the spring of 1974. Not much is known about Ron's fighting style.
He pretended to be manipulated by NESTS but was, in fact, using the syndicate to his own advantage. An ambitious man, Ron is the type of person who will use anything for his personal gain.