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"The Hustle"
Single by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
from the album Disco Baby
B-side	"Hey Girl, Come and Get It"
Released	April 18, 1975
Recorded	1975
Studio	Mediasound, New York City
Genre	Disco dance
Length	3:29 (single version) 4:10 (album version)
Label	Avco Records
Songwriter(s)	Van McCoy
Producer(s)	Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore
Music video
"The Hustle" on YouTube

"The Hustle" is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian RPM charts, No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK. It would eventually sell over one million copies. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.

History

While in New York City to make an album, McCoy composed the song after his music partner, Charles Kipps, watched patrons do a dance known as "the Hustle" in the nightclub "Adam's Apple." The sessions were done at New York's Mediasound Studios with pianist McCoy, bassist Gordon Edwards, drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and John Tropea, and orchestra leader Gene Orloff. Producer Hugo Peretti contracted multi-woodwind player Phil Bodner to play the piccolo lead melody.

On the week of May 16, 1975, "The Hustle" entered the Radio & Records Trend chart at no. 38. The following week, "The Hustle" entered the Radio & Records Pop/30 chart at no. 30.

During the summer of 1975, "The Hustle" became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 22 song for 1975. It also peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) and No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. On popular New York City Top 40 station 770 WABC, "The Hustle" was the #1 song for the year 1975, after spending five weeks in the top spot on WABC's weekly charts.

According to producers Hugo & Luigi, who owned the Avco record label that originally released "The Hustle", McCoy met with them shortly before his death in 1979. He wanted to discuss ideas for a new, longer version of the song, in order to appease Avco's UK and German affiliates who were clamoring for a 12" disco single release. The new version, clocking in at just under six and a half minutes, was assembled posthumously as a remix, using parts of the original recording plus new parts, including drum, Syndrum, and a "little" Moog synthesizer. It was credited to Van McCoy alone or with an unnamed orchestra, mixed by "The Mix Masters", identity unknown.

Appearances in other media

The song has been featured in numerous movies, such as Stuck on You, Vampires Suck, and The Lorax, and television shows including the Shark Tale short film Club Oscar, That '70s Show, SMG4, Speechless, American Dad!, and Futurama.

Chart performance

Certifications and sales

Other versions

• Italian rapper Talko made a rap cover of "The Hustle". It was released in 1983 on Babalu Records.
• Filipino comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto covered this song as "Booba (Do The Hustle)", which served as the theme song of the 2001 film Booba. Her version was included on her album Rated R from Viva Records.
• In 2023 the American composer Joseph Shirley covered this song as "Hustle Dimension", which appeared in the 2023 DreamWorks Animation American animated jukebox musical comedy film Trolls Band Together.

References

1. "Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony – Disco Baby". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
2. Smith, Troy L. (14 December 2021). "Every No. 1 song of the 1970s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 388.
4. ^ Steffen Hung. "Forum - One Hit Wonders (General: Music/Charts related)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 338. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. Radio & Record, VOL 3., NUMBER 19 FRIDAY MAY 16, 1975 - Page 36 Radio & Records THE INDUSTRY'S NEWSPAPER, TREND: MAY 16, 1975
7. Radio & Records, VOL 3., NUMBER 20 FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1975 - Page 36 RADIO & RECORDS POP, Radio & Records POP/30
8. Musicradio77.com "WABC Top 100 of 1975" Retrieved June 30, 2024.
9. ^ "Label preparing 12-inch 'Hustle'". Billboard. July 21, 1979. p. 86.
10. "The Hustle (Disco Mix) " at Discogs (list of releases)
11. "The Hustle: Across Media". July 2, 2018.
12. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. December 29, 1975. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
13. Steffen Hung. "Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
14. "Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3996a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
16. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
17. "Charts singles Top 50 en France: 23 Nov 1975". 2017.
18. "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2013-07-19.
19. "Home - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Officialcharts.de. 2016-09-30. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Hustle". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
21. Steffen Hung. "Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle". charts.nz. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
22. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (M)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
23. ^ "The Hustle (song by Van McCoy)". Music VF.com. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
24. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 158.
25. "Top 100 1975-07-19". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
26. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
27. "Top Selling Singles of 1975 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1975-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
28. "Britain's best selling records of '75" (JPG). Scans.chartarchive.org. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
29. "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
30. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
31. "Canadian single certifications – Van McCoy – The Hustle". Music Canada. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
32. "Big Resurgence Of Japan". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 51. December 18, 1976. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
33. "British single certifications – Van Mccoy – The Hustle". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
34. "American single certifications – Van Mc Coy – The Hustle". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
35. "Talko's The Hustle Rap on YouTube". Youtube.com. 3 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
36. "Rufa Mae Quinto: A sex bomb on the loose - CONVERSATIONS with Ricky F. Lo". The Philippine STAR.
37. "Joseph Shirley Trolls Band Together - KiDS Movie by DreamWorks". YouTube Music.

External links

• Van McCoy - The Hustle on YouTube

• 1975 songs
• 1975 singles
• Van McCoy songs
• American disco songs
• Pop instrumentals
• 1970s instrumentals
• Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
• Cashbox number-one singles
• RPM Top Singles number-one singles
• Songs written by Van McCoy
• Avco Records singles
• Song recordings produced by Hugo & Luigi
• Songs about dancing