Van McCoy
Encyclopedia
Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an accomplished musician, music producer, arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, and orchestra conductor. He is known best for his 1975 internationally successful song "The Hustle
The Hustle (song)
"The Hustle" is a famous disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It scored #1 on the "Billboard Hot 100" and the "Hot Soul Singles" charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at #9 on the Australian Singles Chart and #3 in the UK...

", which is still played in dance halls and on radio to this day more than thirty years since his death. He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit and is also noted for producing songs for such recording artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Stylistics
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...

, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

, Brenda & The Tabulations
Brenda & the Tabulations
Brenda & the Tabulations were an American R&B group formed in 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally composed of Brenda Payton, Eddie L. Jackson, Maurice Coates and Jerry Jones.-History:...

, David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...

, Peaches & Herb
Peaches & Herb
Peaches & Herb was an American vocalist duo, once comprising Herb Fame and Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker...

, and Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.-Career:...

.

Early life

Van McCoy was born on January 6, 1940, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, the second child of Norman S. McCoy, Sr. and Lillian Ray. He learned to play piano at a young age and sang with the Metropolitan Baptist Church choir as a youngster. By age 12 years, he had begun writing his own songs in addition to performing in local amateur shows alongside his older brother, Norman Jr. The two brothers formed a doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...

 combo named the Starlighters with two friends while in high school. They recorded a single entitled, "The Birdland", a novelty dance record, during 1956, which gained some interest resulting in a tour with drummer Vi Burnsides. The Starlighters produced three singles for End Records
End Records
End Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner. In 1962 the label was acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records. Among its more successful recording acts were The Flamingos, The Chantels, and Little Anthony and the Imperials...

 during 1959. Marriage and other commitments would eventually cause the group to disband during the mid-1950s. Van also sang with a group called the Marylanders.

During 1961 McCoy met Kendra Spotswood
Kendra Spotswood
Kendra Spotswood is an American soul singer and is considered to be one of the most underrated singers of the girl group era. She is known best for her collaboration with Van McCoy, her membership of The Shirelles and her song "You're Gonna Make Me Love You" a favorite on the UK Northern soul...

 (aka. Sandi Sheldon) to whom he became engaged. For the next five years they sang and recorded music together professionally. Their relationship ended when McCoy delayed their wedding plans because of a contract with Columbia Records company.

Career

McCoy entered Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

 to study psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 during September 1958, only to drop out after two years to relocate to Philadelphia, where he formed his own recording company, Rockin' Records, and released his first single, "Hey Mr. DJ", during 1959. This single gained the attention of Scepter Records
Scepter Records
Scepter Records is a record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. She had just sold Tiara Records with The Shirelles for $4000 to Decca Records. When The Shirelles didn't produce any hits for Decca, they were given back to Greenberg, who promptly signed them. By 1961 Greenberg launched a...

 owner Florence Greenberg, who hired McCoy as a staff writer and A&R Representative. As a writer there, McCoy composed his first success, "Stop the Music", for the female vocal group the Shirelles
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an African-American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens , Doris Coley , Addie "Micki" Harris , and Beverly Lee...

 during 1962. He also managed the band Vando and Share and co-owned the band Maxx during the mid-1960s, supervising such artists as Gladys Knight & The Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...

, Chris Bartley
Chris Bartley
Chris Bartley was an American R&B singer. Bartley grew up listening to '50s soul and doo wop, and formed his own group in the early 1960s with William Graham, Henry Powell, Sam Nesbitt, and Ronald Marshall...

, and The Ad Libs. However, he really came into his own after first working for top producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...

 as a writer and then signing with the major April-Blackwood music publishing concern, connected with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

. McCoy would go on to write a string of hits as the 1960s progressed. He penned "Giving Up" for Gladys Knight & The Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...

, (later a hit for Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...

), "The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven" for Chris Bartley
Chris Bartley
Chris Bartley was an American R&B singer. Bartley grew up listening to '50s soul and doo wop, and formed his own group in the early 1960s with William Graham, Henry Powell, Sam Nesbitt, and Ronald Marshall...

, "When You're Young and in Love
When You're Young and in Love
"When You're Young and in Love" is a song composed by Van McCoy. The first recording of the song was by Ruby & the Romantics; like all the group's singles on Kapp Records the track was produced by label a&r head Allen Stanton...

" for Ruby and the Romantics, "Right on the Tip of My Tongue" for Brenda & The Tabulations
Brenda & the Tabulations
Brenda & the Tabulations were an American R&B group formed in 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally composed of Brenda Payton, Eddie L. Jackson, Maurice Coates and Jerry Jones.-History:...

, "Baby I'm Yours" for Barbara Lewis, "Getting Mighty Crowded" for Betty Everett
Betty Everett
Betty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...

, and "I Get the Sweetest Feeling
I Get the Sweetest Feeling
"I Get the Sweetest Feeling" is the 1968 single by Jackie Wilson from the album with the same title.-Song information:The track is a Motown inspired song recorded during his Chicago period when he regained energy and started to record many singles and albums again. The track was written by Van...

" for Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...

. He also put together the hit-making duo of Peaches & Herb, arranging and co-producing their first hit, "Let's Fall In Love", for the Columbia subsidiary Date, in 1966. The same year, McCoy recorded a solo LP for Columbia titled Night-time Is a Lonely Time, and, a year later, started his own short-lived label, Vando, as well as his own production company VMP (Van McCoy Productions).

Van wrote or produced most consistently for The Presidents
The Presidents (band)
The Presidents were an American soul group from Washington, D.C.. The group's members were Tony Boyd, Archie Powell, and Billy Shorter. The group scored a hit in the U.S. in 1970 with the Van McCoy produced track, "5-10-15-20 ", taken from the Sussex Records album of the same name...

 ("5-10-15-20 (25 Years of Love)"), The Choice Four
The Choice Four
The Choice Four were an American soul/disco group from Washington, D.C. who recorded for RCA Records. Several of the group's members had previously sung in The Love Tones and The Stridels. They had several minor hits on the Billboard charts in the mid 1970s.-Albums:*The Finger Pointers *On Top of...

 ("The Finger Pointers", "Come Down to Earth"), Faith, Hope & Charity ("To Each His Own
To Each His Own (Faith, Hope & Charity song)
"To Each His Own" is a 1975 dance/R&B single by trio, Faith, Hope & Charity. The single was an early disco favorite, hitting the top 20 on the disco chart peaking at number fifteen. "To Each His Own" was a number-one R&B hit for one week in late 1975 and also peaked at number fifty on the...

" and "So Much Love") and David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...

 ("Walk Away from Love
Walk Away from Love
"Walk Away from Love" is 1975 R&B crossover single by David Ruffin The single, produced by Van McCoy, was number one on the US R&B singles chart for one week in early 1976...

"). In the early 1970s, McCoy began a long, acclaimed collaboration with songwriter/ producer, Charles Kipps, and arranged several hits for the soul group The Stylistics
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...

 as well as releasing his own solo LP on the Buddha
Buddah Records
Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...

 label, Soul Improvisations, in 1972. The album included a minor hit, "Let Me Down Easy", but it wasn't a success following poor promotion. He formed his own orchestra, Soul City Symphony and, with singers Faith, Hope and Charity, produced several albums and gave many performances.

Television and film

Van McCoy appeared on the Mike Douglas Show and was a regular guest on the Tonight Show. He wrote and sang the theme song for the movie Sextette
Sextette
Sextette is a 1978 Crown International Pictures comedy/musical motion picture that starred Mae West. Other actors in the cast included Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper and Walter Pidgeon....

that starred Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....

 and Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...

 and even made a cameo appearance in it, playing a delegate from Africa. He also contributed some music for A Woman Called Moses
A Woman Called Moses
A Woman Called Moses is a television miniseries based on the life of Harriet Tubman, the escaped African American slave who helped to organize the Underground Railroad, and who led hundreds of African Americans from enslavement in the Southern United States to freedom in the Northern states and...

, the TV classic that starred Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson is an American actress. A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film Sounder and the television movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots....

. Along with Faith Hope & Charity, Brass Construction
Brass Construction
Brass Construction was an American funk group formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1968. They were originally known as Dynamic Soul, and went on to record a string of hit singles and albums through to 1985.-Career:...

 and Johnny Dark
Johnny Dark
Johnny Dark is an American comedian and comic actor, active on television since the 1970s. He is most recently known for his recurring appearances on Late Show with David Letterman....

, he appears in episode 4.20 of Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner , known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies.-Early life:Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor,...

's Rock Concert
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...

.

Mainstream success

In 1975, McCoy released to low expectations the mostly instrumental LP Disco Baby for the Avco
Avco Records
Avco Records was a record label started in 1968 by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and Joseph E. Levine as Avco Embassy Records. In the late 1960s, they released a psychedelic rock album by the group Bead Game, titled Welcome. The Embassy name was dropped in 1971 making the label Avco Records...

 (later H&L) label. It should be noted, however, that the title song, "Disco Baby", was written by David Weiss and Hugo & Luigi, and performed by the Stylistics. Unexpectedly, a single called "The Hustle
The Hustle (song)
"The Hustle" is a famous disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It scored #1 on the "Billboard Hot 100" and the "Hot Soul Singles" charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at #9 on the Australian Singles Chart and #3 in the UK...

" from the album, written about the dance of the same name and recorded last for the album, went to the very top of both the Billboard pop and R&B charts (also #3 in Britain) and won a Grammy. The album was also Grammy nominated. McCoy, then regarded a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 hitmaker, never repeated the success of the song, although the singles "Party", "That's the Joint", and "Change with the Times" got significant airplay. The latter reached #6 in the Billboard R&B chart and was a Top 40 hit in the UK. There were no further major sellers in the US, despite a series of follow-up albums, From Disco to Love (the 1975 reissue of Soul Improvisations), The Disco Kid (1975), The Real McCoy (1976), Rhythms of the World (1976), My Favorite Fantasy (1978), Lonely Dancer (1979), and Sweet Rhythm (1979)). However, he scored the UK top 5 again during 1977 with the instrumental success "The Shuffle".

Van also had major success with former Temptation David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...

's comeback LP, Who I Am, featuring "Walk Away from Love
Walk Away from Love
"Walk Away from Love" is 1975 R&B crossover single by David Ruffin The single, produced by Van McCoy, was number one on the US R&B singles chart for one week in early 1976...

", a number 1 R&B hit (#9 pop) in the US and a UK Top 5 success. He went on to produce the next two albums for David Ruffin
David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...

, which spawned further successes. McCoy produced Gladys Knight and The Pips' Still Together LP, and for Melba Moore
Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...

 ("This Is It" and "Lean on Me
Lean on Me (song)
"Lean on Me" is a song written and released by Bill Withers in 1972.It was his first and only number one on both the soul singles and the Billboard Hot 100. It is ranked number 205 on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Numerous cover versions have been recorded, and it is one of...

"). He discovered Faith, Hope And Charity, whose major success in 1975, "To Each His Own", was another R&B chart-topper for him.

Death

McCoy died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 in Englewood
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, on July 6, 1979, at the age of 39.

Singles

Van McCoy
  • 1963: Never Trust A Friend / Mr. DJ
  • 1963: It Ain't No Big Thing / Love Can Mess Up Your Mind
  • 1965: Baby Don't Tease Me / Girls Are Sentimental
  • 1966: I'll Wait For You / The House That Love Built
  • 1967: To Make My Father Proud (To Make My Mother Smile) / Where There’s A Heartache (There Must Be A Heart) Did My Baby Turn Bad
  • 1968: Follow Your Heart / Lonely
  • 1969: I Started A Joke / Tony's Theme
  • 1974: Soul Improvisations (Part 1) / Soul Improvisations (Part 2)
  • 1975: Change With The Times / Good Night, Baby
  • 1975: Night Walk / Love Child
  • 1976: Party / The Disco Kid
  • 1976: The Shuffle / That's The Joint
  • 1977: Soul Cha Cha / Oriental Boogie
  • 1978: My Favorite Fantasy / You're So Right For Me
  • 1979: Lonely Dancer / Decisions


Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony
  • Killing Me Softly / Love Is The Answer - Avco Records AV-4639 - 1974
  • Boogie Down / A Rainy Night In Georgia - Avco 4648 - 1974
  • The Hustle / Get Dancin' - Avco 6105 037 - 1975

Albums

  • 1966: Night Time Is Lonely Time
  • 1972: Soul Improvisations
  • 1974: Love Is The Answer
  • 1975: Disco Baby
  • 1975: The Disco Kid
  • 1975: From Disco To Love
  • 1976: The Real McCoy
  • 1976: Rhythms Of The World
  • 1977: Van McCoy And His Magnificent Movie Machine
  • 1978: My Favorite Fantasy
  • 1979: Lonely Dancer
  • 1979: Sweet Rhythm

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK