Rock The Boat

The Hues Corporation was a Los Angeles band formed in 1969. They were a black vocal group comprised of Hubert Ann Kelly, St. Clair Lee and Fleming Williams. Their name was a pun on billionaire Howard Hughes' corporation.

This was arguably the first Disco song to hit #1 in the US. The instrumental hit "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" also had a Disco sound and was released 3 months earlier.

Richard Finch of KC & The Sunshine Band told Songfacts that "Rock The Boat" played a partial role in inspiring the hit "Rock Your Baby," which he wrote with Harry Wayne Casey. Finch tells us: "Harry and I were also paying attention to the chart actions at clubs, because club records, according to Henry’s direction, were doing better than just regular R&B Records. Back then you could sneak into a club and they didn’t check your ID, so Harry and I would once in a while go sneak into the local clubs. There was one on Southwest 8th Street in Miami, Florida, that played dance music. We’d go in there for about an hour or two until it got to be way too late for us to be there. And we’d pay attention to what brought the people to the dance floor, and what made them sit down. So we started gearing ourselves to writing more in that direction. 'Rock Your Baby' was inspired by the gathering of all that information." (check out our full interview with Richard Finch)

In an interview with Classicbands.com, Hues Corporation member St. Clair Lee said, "It was a song that you could do anything on. You could cuddle or you could get crazy if you wanted to. It was a love song without being a love song. But, it was a Disco hit and it happened because of the discos."

This was used in commercials for M&Ms candy, and it was also featured in the 1999 movie Man On The Moon. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)