Biography for
Van McCoy More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

6 January 1940, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Date of Death

6 July 1979, Englewood, New Jersey, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

Van Allen Clinton McCoy

Nickname

King of Disco

Mini Biography

Singer, songwriter, and music producer Van Allen Clinton McCoy was born on January 6, 1940 in Washington, DC. McCoy sang with the Metropolitan Baptist Church choir when he was a kid. At age 12 Van began writing his own songs and performing in local amateur shows along with his older brother Norman, Jr. He was the lead singer of the doo-wop group the Starlighters, which recorded the novelty dance record "The Birdland" in 1956. After the Starlighters broke up, McCoy briefly studied psychology for two years at Howard University before dropping out and moving to Philadelphia. Van created his own label Rockin' Records and released the single "Hey Mr. DJ" in 1959. This in turn lead to McCoy being hired as a staff writer and A&R representative for Scepter Records. Throughout the early to mid 60's Van penned numerous hit songs for such artists as the Shirelles ("Stop the Music"), Jackie Wilson ("I Get the Sweetest Feeling"), Gladys Knight & the Pips ("Giving Up"), Betty Everett ("Getting Mighty Crowded"), Ruby and the Romantics ("When You're Young and in Love"), Brenda & the Tabulations ("Right on the Tip of My Tongue"), Chris Bartley ("The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven"), and Barbara Lewis ("Baby, I'm Yours"). In 1966 McCoy recorded the solo album "Nighttime Is a Lonely Time" for Columbia Records; the album was produced by Mitch Miller. He started his own short-lived label Vando in 1967. In the early 70's Van collaborated with producer and songwriter Charles Kipps on many sessions which included David Ruffin's acclaimed 1975 Motown comeback album "Who I Am." In addition, McCoy arranged several hits for the soul group the Stylistics, formed his own orchestra called Soul City Symphony, and with singers Faith, Hope and Charity recorded several albums and gave many live performances. In 1975 Van scored an enormous smash hit with the groovy disco instrumental "The Hustle;" the song peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts in July, 1975, sold well over a million copies, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Stunned by the surprise success of "The Hustle" and unhappy with his newfound status as a disco hitmaker, McCoy nonetheless recorded a few follow-up disco songs and albums that failed to replicate the substantial success of "The Hustle." He returned to writing and producing material for other artists for the remainder of his career. Van McCoy died of a sudden massive heart attack on July 6, 1979 in Englewood, New Jersey; he was only 39 years old.

IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders

Trivia

His disco anthem, "The Hustle," was a number 1 recording in July of 1975. It sold ten million copies, won a Grammy as "Best Pop Instrumental of 1975" and is considered the best-selling disco disk of all time.

Prolific songwriter/producer/arranger. Wrote "Giving Up" for Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Sweet Bitter Love" for Aretha Franklin, "The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven" for Chris Bartley, "I Get The Sweetest Feeling" for Jackie Wilson, "Suddenly, I'm All Alone" for Walter Jackson and "Right On The Tip Of My Tongue" for 'Brenda & The Tabulations', among others. Produced and/or arranged hits for artists such as David Ruffin, Faith, Hope & Charity, The Stylistics and Zulema. Discovered by Mitch Miller.

Wrote a song called "We're Just Two of a Kind" for the late Mary Wells, on her self-titled 1965 album for 20th Century-Fox.

His big hit song "The Hustle" was written in under an hour and was the last track recorded for the 1975 album "Disco Baby".

Founder of Vando Records.

Personal Quotes

When I wrote 'The Hustle' I'd never even been to a disco to see the dance. What happened was that David Todd, who's one of the top DJs in the New York Discos, came to me and told me about this new dance. I got a couple of girls to do the Hustle for me in the office so I could get the rhythm right, and I wrote the tune.