Seventies Soul Singles Chart – November 30, 1974
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| Benedict George |
In 1974 disco started to shine through the soul charts. For instance, disco pioneers like George McCrae, Hues Corporation and Barry White were in the R&B top 20 on the last day of November in 1974. Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas was not exactly disco nor soul, but some kind of novelty pop song. It was a worldwide hit for the singer who had not been very successful up to then. The track was meant to be the b-side of Gamblin’ Man and because of that the musicians tried to make Kung Fu Fighting as funny as possible with lots of shouts and silly flute parts. The record company soon realized that they had gold in their hands and turned it into the a-side. The single, which was inspired by then popular martial arts films, was such an enormous success that it overshadowed the rest of Douglas' career.
When you listen to the lyrics of Woman To Woman, it is clear that most of the songs at the time were written from a male’s perspective. Adultery by a man seemed only a woman’s problem in Shirley Brown's song. Luckily female power became more common in disco songs, like I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor a few years later.
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Tracklist:
Bobby Womack – I Don’t Know
Barry White – You’re The First, The Last, My Everything
Hues Corporation – Rockin’ Soul
Stylistics – Heavy Fallin’ Out
Al Wilson – La La Peace Song
Jackson 5 – Whatever You Got, I Want
Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
Dynamic Superiors – Shoe Shoe Shine
James Brown – Coldblooded
George McCrae – I Can’t Leave You Alone / I Get Lifted
B.T. Express – Do It (‘Til Your Satisfied)
Rufus Feat. Chaka Khan – You Got The Love
Three Degrees – When Will I See You Again
Tavares – She’s Gone
Blue Magic – Three Ring Circus
Little Beaver – Party Down
Shirley Brown – Woman To Woman
Spinners – Love Don’t Love Nobody
Gladys Knight & The Pips – I Feel A Song (In My Heart)
Al Green – Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)
Comments
It's amazing that nearly all these weekly magazines/papers from that time ago (RW , Billboard, CashBox) are available to download as pdfs from Radio World History. Quite an achievement. Reading them has helped me to correct some singles release dates on 45cat recently.