Van McCoy Story Pt 2 on the Chancellor of Soul's Soul Facts Show

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Chancellor of Soul, Mike Boone presents a special two-part edition on
his WCOS Internet Radio Show, 'Soul Facts' on legendary singer-
songwriter- producer- arranger and conductor, Mr. Van McCoy.

The Van McCoy Story (Part 2)

As the dawn of a new decade rose upon us, the 1970's would continue to bless Van McCoy's musical success. After forming
VMP (Van McCoy Productions) in 1968 and co-owned the Share
indie label, McCoy continued to write and produce many classic
hits for artists like The Presidents, Brenda & The Tabulations,
Daivd Ruffin, Melba Moore, Faith Hope & Charity, Ralph Carter (from
the Good Times TV series on CBS) The Choise Four and Gladys
Knight & The Pips from 1970-1977.

According to BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) Van has approximately
written or co-written 700 songs, along with 11 produced albums
under his given name, recruiting the greatest NY musicians he
named The Soul City Symphony (because of his love of classic music) and adding 3 great singers from Tampa, Florida dubbed
Faith Hope & Charity by legendary songwriter/ producer Bob Crewe,
famous for his association with Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons,
The Toys and many others. McCoy who composed Faith Hope &
Charity's first hit in 1970 called 'So Much Love' would use the Tampa
group extensively in many of his recordings,

Van McCoy's mainstream success came while one day he was
producing an instrumental LP for legendary producers Hugo & Luigi.
He was invited to go to a nightclub in Harlem called the Big Apple
by DJ David Todd but was to busy to attend. So McCoy's production
associate- songwriter, Charles Kipps went instead. Kipps was
fascinated by the dance people doing called the Latin Hustle.
He came back to the studio around midnight and ask Van about
writing a song called The Hustle.

While Kipps describe the dance to Mc Coy, Van wrote the song on
the spot and went into the session the next day to record it. As the
track was being laid doen, producer Hugo Perrett suggested a picolo
should be used as a part of the song. Recorded at Mediasound Studios in New York City, vocals were provided by Faith Hope & Charity, the music by the Soul City Symphony and Phillip Bodner
on piccolo.

The song became an international smash, zooming straight into the
No. 1 position on Billboard's R&B and Pop singles chart in July 1975.
His masterpiece instrumental LP 'Disco Baby' was released in the
summer of 75'. 'The Hustle' won a Grammy Award for Best Pop
Instrumental Performance in 1976. The LP earned a nomination but
failed to win.

'The Hustle' made Van McCoy a international household name that
propelled him to go on a worldwide tour, including great performance
at New York's prestigeous Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.

McCoy wasn't comfortable being typecast as the 'Disco Kid'. He
wanted to expland his gifted musical talents and not be labeled.
Legendary actress Mae West asked McCoy to composed and sing
the title song for the movie 'Sextette' starring herself and Timothy
Dalton. Van was also cast for a cameo role in the movie playing an
African delgate. He also wrote a score for the Cicly Tyson movie
'A Woman Called Moses' the story about Harriet Tubman, as well
as making appearences on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, the Mike
Douglas Show and the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.

Van signed with MCA Records in 1978 and made two last recordings
for the label, 'My Favorite Fantasy' and 'Lonely Dancer' in 1979.

Van McCoy suffered a heart attack and died on July 6, 1979 at
Englewood General Hospital in NJ. He was 39 years.

(End of Part 2)

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