Fifty years ago, during the Bruce Lee and David Carradine Kung Fu craze, the Jamaican musician Carl Douglas recorded “Kung Fu Fighting” as a B-side throw-away funky novelty song to his A-side soulful tune: “I Want to Give You Everything“.
“Kung Fu Fighting” quickly eclipsed the A-side record and rose to number 1 in December 1974 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The record went Gold in the same year as its release and eventually sold over 11 million copies worldwide.
Bruce Lee was instrumental in bringing Kung Fu and Chinese martial arts to the U.S. in the 1960s through his films and by teaching his skills to notable Hollywood personalities such as Chuck Norris, Roman Polanski, James Coburn, and Sharon Tate.
Trivia: The beginning and ending scenes in the “Kung Fu Fighting” music video are from the 2004 martial arts comedy movie “Kung Fu Hustle” starring Stephen Chow as Sing.
Source: Kung Fu Fighting (Remaster HD) by Carl Douglas 20th Century Fox 1974 and YouTube 2022.
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