Carl Douglas

For the American lawyer, see Carl E. Douglas.
Carl Douglas
Birth name Carlton George Douglas
Born (1942-05-10) 10 May 1942
Kingston, Jamaica
Website carl-douglas.com

Carlton George Douglas (born 10 May 1942), also known by his stage name Carl Douglas, is a Jamaican recording artist. Douglas rose to prominence after releasing his single "Kung Fu Fighting".

Early life

Carlton George Douglas was born on 10 May 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Career

Douglas' career was based in the United Kingdom, where his single "Kung Fu Fighting" ranked number one in both the U.K. Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The single sold 11 million copies worldwide,[1][2] making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The single was later certified gold by the RIAA on 27 November 1974.[3]

The single, which is an homage to martial arts films, has overshadowed the rest of Douglas' career; resulting in his appearance on cover versions of the single. In the United States, Douglas was considered a "one-hit wonder" since he was only known for "Kung Fu Fighting". However, in the United Kingdom, he has two other singles that made it into the "Top 40", which were "Dance the Kung Fu", which peaked at number 35 in the charts; and "Run Back", which peaked at number 25.

Douglas was once managed by Eric Woolfson,[4] who later became the primary songwriter behind "The Alan Parsons Project".

In 1998, a re-recording of "Kung Fu Fighting", performed by British dance act Bus Stop and which featured Douglas's vocals, peaked at number 8 in the "UK Singles Chart".[5]

The single "Dance The Kung Fu", was sampled on "Cuda nie widy" from 2001 album Nibylandia, and later by DJ Premier on his 2007 remix of Nike's 25th Air Force One anniversary single "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)", featuring Kanye West, Nas, KRS-One and Rakim. Douglas is represented by music publisher Schacht Musikverlage (SMV) in Hamburg, Germany.[6]

Discography

Albums

Year Title UK US 200 US R&B
1974 Kung Fu Fighter - 37 1
1977 Love, Peace and Happiness - - -
1978 Keep Pleasing Me - - -

Singles

Year Title UK US USD IRE CB AU NZ GE AT NE FR ITA NO SUI BE SA
1964 Crazy Feeling (w/The Big Stampede) 21 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1968 Serving A Sentence Of Life - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1969 Eeny Meeny - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1972 Somebody Stop This Madness - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1974 Blue Eyed Soul - - 1 - - - - - - - 10 - - - 17 -
1974 Kung Fu Fighting 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 1 1
1974 Dance The Kung Fu 35 48 - - 46 - - 6 19 9 - - - - 8 16
1977 Shanghai - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1977 Run Back 25 - - - - - - - - - 5 - - - - 5
1998 Kung Fu Fighting (Bus Stop And Carl Douglas) 8 - - 12 - 15 1 - - - - - - - - -

Chart information provided by TSORT,[7] All Music [8] & MusicVF.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ James Ellis. "Biddu". Metro. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
  2. ↑ Malika Browne (20 August 2004). "It's a big step from disco to Sanskrit chants, but Biddu has made it". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  3. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 344. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. ↑ Eric Woolfson Obituary, The Independent
  5. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 167. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ↑ "SMV | Schacht Musikverlage". Smv.de. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  7. ↑ http://tsort.info/music/6u3w50.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/carl-douglas-mn0000179423/awards
  9. ↑ http://www.musicvf.com/Carl+Douglas.art


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