Van McCoy will always be remembered for his disco hit “The Hustle.” But he had a career in music long before that. He recorded some songs in the 1960s that only had moderate success. He was better known as a song writer and producer. He wrote “Baby I’m Yours” (1965) for Barbara Lewis. He produced “Let’s Fall in Love” (1966) for Peaches and Herb. He wrote and produced “5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years of Love)” (1970) for The Presidents.

In 1975 he released the album Disco Baby by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony (just session musicians). The title song was released but that wasn’t the big hit. Instead it was “The Hustle’ that was on the top of the Cash Box chart for the week of July 13 – 19. The next week it was #1 on the Billboard chart. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Van McCoy released a few more albums of disco songs but none had that much success. He died from a sudden heart attack in 1979. He was only 39.