1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: show that goes toe to toe with history every day 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: of the week. I'm Gay, Blues Yay, and today we're 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: talking about one of the strangest musical mashups of the 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: twentieth century, a cheesy British disco song about Chinese martial 7 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: arts that somehow caught fire with a global audience. The 8 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: day was December seventh, nineteen seventy four, Kung Fu Fighting 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: by Carl Douglas kicked its way to the top spot 10 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: on the US Singles Chart. The catchy novelty song spent 11 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: the next two weeks at number one and nine weeks 12 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: on the chart altogether. It also went on to sell 13 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: more than eleven million copies world wide, making it one 14 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 1: of the best selling singles in music history. Of course, 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: Kung Fu Fighting is also one of the most controversial 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: singles due to the heavy racial stereotyping in both its 17 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: lyrics and its music. Despite the song's subject matter, no 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: one of Chinese descent was involved in making it, a 19 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: fact that's abundantly clear when you hear it for yourself. 20 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: Everybody was co Fu Fighting. Those gets the fastest lining. 21 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: In fact, it was a li fighting, but they exp 22 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: tim Man from funcky China town. They were chucking them down. 23 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: It's a version Chinese heart. I never by fair pot 24 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: from a fant ridiculous and exploitative in equal measure. The 25 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: song wasn't your standard chart topper, but it had two 26 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: popular trends working in its favor. First, there was the 27 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: disco factor. In the summer of nineteen seventy four, uptempo 28 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: dance music finally went mainstream, with multiple disco artists breaking 29 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: through to the pop charts. Kung Fu Fighting launched at 30 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: the height of the craze and quickly became an anthem 31 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,679 Speaker 1: in American disco texts. The song also capitalized on the 32 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: rising popularity of martial arts films, including those of revered 33 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,399 Speaker 1: martial artists and actor Bruce Lee. Throughout the nineteen seventies, 34 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: Hong Kong and Hollywood joined forces on dozens of kung 35 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: fu and karate themed movies. Most were produced quickly and cheaply, 36 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: characterized by over the top special effects and violence, and 37 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: by their hasty, often hilarious English dubbing. The movie's focus 38 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: on discipline training and exoticism struck a chord with Western audiences, 39 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: especially with teens and young adults. Some of them were 40 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: inspired to take up martial arts themselves, while others settled 41 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: for play fighting in the streets with their friends. It 42 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: was the latter group that inspired Carl Douglas to write 43 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: kung Fu Fighting. The Jamaican born British singer knew nothing 44 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: about martial arts or Chinese culture, and neither did his 45 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: British Indian producer Bido A Paya. He knew about the 46 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: kung fu movie trend, though, and after walking past a 47 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: group of kids shadow boxing in London, he thought to himself, Wow, 48 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: it looks like everyone is kung fu fighting. The phrase 49 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: stuck in his head, and before he knew it, he'd 50 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: written a whole song about an imaginary gang fight in Chinatown. 51 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: Up to that point, Douglas had made his living as 52 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: a session singer, performing on other artists albums and singles 53 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: on a per contract basis. In nineteen seventy four, though, 54 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: he started working on what would become his own debut album, 55 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: and he had high hopes for the proposed first single, 56 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: a song written by Larry Weiss called I Wanna Give 57 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: you my everything. Here's the taste I got you nun 58 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: for now, gonna put chip on the now, cook, dine 59 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: and singer my sweet payment. No place for you to run. 60 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: Why you can see John Robinson. I'll step the fingers 61 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: you've him. Wait. Douglas met with Bedoo to record the 62 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: single in the fall of nineteen seventy four, and after 63 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: spending about two hours on that one track, they only 64 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,239 Speaker 1: had ten minutes left to work on a B side. 65 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: It was at that point the Douglas suggested a goofy 66 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: song he'd written as an homage to martial arts films. 67 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: He showed the lyrics to bea doo, and after a 68 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: bit of brainstorming, they were rewarded it in just two takes. Lyrically, 69 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: the song is pretty straightforward, telling the story of an 70 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: epic martial arts throwdown as witnessed by a startled narrator 71 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: who's impressed by what he sees. This plot, such as 72 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: it is, is short on details and lacks a true resolution. 73 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: For instance, we never find out who wins the fight, 74 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: or even why it broke out in the first place. 75 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: The bare bones nature of the lyrics isn't a problem 76 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: in itself, but when punctuated by phrases like funky Chinaman, 77 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: the whole venture starts to feel a bit tone death. 78 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: The same is true for the song's use of a 79 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 1: highly stereotypical nine note motif, popularly known as the quote 80 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: Oriental riff. The tune has a long history of its own, 81 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: supposedly dating back to an eighteen forty seven stage play 82 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: based on the Middle Eastern folk tale Aladdin, and although 83 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: that would mean the riff isn't even Chinese in origin, 84 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: it's nonetheless been used for more than one hundred and 85 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: fifty years as a Western trope to signify something's Chineseness. 86 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: Despite the song's objectionable qualities, Kung Fu Fighting doesn't come 87 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: across as mean spirited. It was ill conceived, thoughtlessly written, 88 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: and hastily produced, But you don't get the sense that 89 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: Douglas or Bedo set out to mock Chinese culture. Unfortunately, 90 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: it doesn't seem they put much effort into its portrayal either. 91 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: Reflecting on the song years later, Bidu admitted as much, 92 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: saying quote, I went over the top on the hoos 93 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 1: and has and the chopping sounds. It was a B 94 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: side who was going to listen in the end, Though 95 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: the song wasn't a B side, Pie Records executive Robin 96 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: Blancheflower thought the track's catchy beat and timely subject could 97 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: catch on at dance clubs, so he insisted they make 98 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: it the A side instead. It took a few weeks, 99 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: but the label was ultimately proven right. By September of 100 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: that year, Kung Fu Fighting had reached number one on 101 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: the UK Singles Chart, and then on December seventh, it 102 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: did the same on the Billboard Hot one hundred. Despite 103 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: its reliance on Chinese stereotypes, the song still managed to 104 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: achieve some progressive milestones for the music business. In England, 105 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: it was the first number one song with an Asian producer, 106 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: and in the US it was the first number one 107 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: by a Jamaican born singer. Remarkably, the song's appeal didn't 108 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 1: stop at the UK and the US, and in nineteen 109 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: seventy five it went to the top of the charts 110 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: in ten more countries Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, 111 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and West Germany. The 112 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: song was not as well received in China for obvious reasons, 113 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: Taking a page from dance craze artists before him, Carl 114 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: Douglas followed up his big hit with a sequel song 115 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: called Dance the kung Fu. It wasn't as offensive or 116 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: as popular as the original, and its peak position at 117 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: number forty eight on the Billboard marked Douglas's final chart 118 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: appearance in the US. The artist may have been a 119 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: one hit wonder, but his signature song has continued to 120 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: resonate in the cultural consciousness for decades since. The original 121 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 1: version popped up in all kinds of TV shows and movies, 122 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: occasionally as the backing for actual kung fu fighting, and 123 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight the song got a newly 124 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: sawn life when it was remade by se Lo Green 125 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: and Jack Black for The DreamWork's animated film kung Fu Panda. 126 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: Then eight years after that, a third version was recorded 127 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: by British band The Vamps for the franchise's third installment, 128 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: the aptly named kung Fu Panda three. Both remakes wisely 129 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 1: substituted new aspirational lyrics in place of the old ones, 130 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: but the lack of involvement from Chinese artists and the 131 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: use of the oriental riff for the same as ever, 132 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: so while the future may come at us fast as lightning, 133 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,439 Speaker 1: sometimes it's the things that don't change that are the 134 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 1: most frightening. I'm Gabe Lucy and hopefully you now know 135 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 136 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's episode, consider keeping up with us 137 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:34,079 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, And 138 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions you'd like to share, 139 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: don't hesitate to get in touch by writing to This 140 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,559 Speaker 1: Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 141 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll 142 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 143 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: History class.