The Hues Corporation
The Hues Corporation was an American pop and soul band that became famous in the mid-1970s as part of the burgeoning disco era.
Band history
In 1969 Hubert Ann Kelley, St. Clair Lee and Karl Russell founded the trio The Hues Corporation. Karl Russell was replaced by Fleming Williams around 1972, but returned to the group in the mid-1970s. With the title track of the 1973 debut album Freedom for the Stallion , it entered the US charts for the first time , where the single reached number 63.
Rock the Boat , from the same album , became a global hit and million seller in 1974 . The single rose to the top 10 in Germany and Great Britain , was No. 2 on the US R&B charts and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to Love's Theme by the Love Unlimited Orchestra , Rock Your Baby by George McCrae and The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP ) by MFSB , the song is one of the first top hits of the disco era. From spring to summer, Rock the Boat dominated American discos for several months and is only not listed on the Billboard Dance Charts because they were first drawn up on October 26, 1974.
The Hues Corporation was able to build on its great success with the album Rockin 'Soul and the released title track. This single also placed in the international charts and climbed the top 10 of the R&B and the newly formed dance charts in the United States. Further chart successes were the 1975 album Love Corporation and the single of the same name. The last time it made it into a hit parade in 1977 with the title I Caught Your Act .
Members
- Hubert Ann Kelley (born April 24, 1947 in Fairfield , Alabama )
- St. Clair Lee (actually Bernard St. Clair Lee Calhoun Henderson ; born April 24, 1944 in San Francisco , † March 8, 2011)
- Fleming Williams (born December 26, 1943 in Flint , Michigan ; † February 15, 1998) - around 1972 to around 1974
- Tommy Brown (* in Birmingham , Alabama ) - 1974 (for Williams) to around 1975
- Karl Russell (born April 10, 1947 in Columbus , Ohio ) - 1969 to around 1972 and from around 1975 (for Brown) to around 1979
- Kenny James - circa 1979/1980
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | R&B | |||
1973 | Freedom for the Stallion |
US20 (18 weeks) US |
R&B59 (2 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1973
Producer: John Florez |
1974 | Rockin 'soul | - |
R&B20 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1974
Producers: John Florez, Tom Sellers, Wally Holmes |
1975 | Love Corporation |
US147 (5 weeks) US |
R&B40 (6 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1975
Producer: David Kershenbaum |
More albums
- 1976: I Caught Your Act
- 1978: Your Place or Mine
Compilations
- 1977: The Best of Hues Corporation
- 1991: Golden Classic Edition: Rockin 'Soul
- 2000: Rock the Boat
- 2014: Rockin 'Soul / Love Corporation (2 albums on 1 CD)
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | UK | US | R&B | Dance | |||
1973 | Freedom for the Stallion Freedom for the Stallion |
- | - |
US63 (8 weeks) US |
- | - |
First published: March 1973
Author: Allen Toussaint |
1974 | Rock the Boat Freedom for the Stallion |
DE7 (20 weeks) DE |
UK6th
silver
(10 weeks)UK |
US1
gold
(18 weeks)US |
R&B2 (21 weeks) R&B |
- |
First published: April 1974
Author: Waldo Holmes |
Rockin 'Soul Rockin' Soul |
DE32 (2 weeks) DE |
UK24 (6 weeks) UK |
US18 (12 weeks) US |
R&B6 (15 weeks) R&B |
Dance9 (3 weeks) Dance |
First published: September 1974
Author: Waldo Holmes |
|
1975 | Love Corporation Love Corporation |
- | - |
US62 (6 weeks) US |
R&B15 (11 weeks) R&B |
Dance11 (4 weeks) Dance |
First published: January 1975
Author: Waldo Holmes |
1977 | I Caught Your Act I Caught Your Act |
- | - |
US92 (2 weeks) US |
R&B61 (11 weeks) R&B |
Dance3 (14 weeks) Dance |
First published: February 1977
Author: Waldo Holmes |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
|
|
literature
- Frank Laufenberg : Frank Laufenberg's Rock and Pop Lexicon Vol. 1 , ISBN 3-612-26206-8 .
swell
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: Singles UK US
- ^ Obituary in The Independent
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ a b Gold / Platinum databases: UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .
Web links
- The Hues Corporation at Allmusic (English)
- The Hues Corporation at Discogs (English)
- Biography and entry on soultracks.com