One-hit wonder Van McCoy

Of the 700 or so songs written by Van McCoy of Washington, D.C., the one great hit was the 1975 disco dance song The Hustle. People liked it so well that specialized versions of the dance sprang up: the Latin Hustle, the L.A. Hustle, the New York Hustle, etc.

McCoy's earliest performances were as lead singer for a quartet called The Starlighers, who recorded a dance tune called The Birdland at some time in the 1950s. Before and after his big hit, McCoy wrote and arranged music for many other performers, such as Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Tom Jones, Nat King Cole, and The Shirelles. He made appearances on The Johnny Carson Show and the Mike Douglas Show and, prior to his untimely death of heart failure in 1979 at age 39, he had started his own orchestra, Soul City Symphony.