Van McCoy

Born In Washington, D.C. on January 6, 1940, Van McCoy was an R&B / disco singer, songwriter, musician, and producer best known for the hit “The Hustle.” He learned to play the piano when he was young and began writing songs by the age of 12. His professional music career began when he formed a doo-wop group with his brother called the Starlighters. After dropping out of college, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and started his own label, releasing his first single, 1959’s “Hey Mr. D.J.” He then became a staff writer for Scepter Records and experienced success in 1962 with “Stop the Music,” which was a hit for The Shirelles. He continued writing songs for other artists including Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ruby & the Romantics, Brenda & the Tabulations, Chad & Jeremy, Barbara Lewis, Jackie Wilson, and others. In 1965, Van McCoy was responsible for bring R&B / soul duo Peaches & Herb together after he met Herb Fame in a Washington, D.C. record store. His career behind the scenes continued into the 1970s when he wrote or produced records for The Presidents, David Ruffin, and more. While working with these other artists, he continued to pursue his own solo career and released many singles throughout the 1960s including “Butterfly” (1965), “The House that Love Built” (1966), and “The Generation Gap” (1969). While his own solo singles and albums didn’t set the charts on fire, he finally began seeing success in 1974 with “Love is the Answer,” “African Symphony,” and “Boogie Down.” While already a success as a writer and producer, Van McCoy scored his first massive hit as a solo artist with 1975’s “The Hustle,” one of the disco movement’s defining songs. The song reached number 1 on the Hot 100, the R&B / Soul Singles chart, and the Canadian Singles chart. The song also reached the Top 10 in Australia, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK. He continued to score more singles on the Hot 100 – including “Change with the Times” (1975), “Night Walk” (1976), and “Party” (1976) – but his 1976 copycat single “The Shuffle” was a failure and his success as a solo artist began to wind down. Van McCoy suffered a heart attack on June 29, 1979, and fell into a coma. He died on July 6, 1979, at the age of 39.