Alex Henderson

The Hues Corporation
Rockin' Soul/Love Corporation

Many musicologists agree that 1974 marked the official start of the Disco Era. Certainly, there are pre-1974 recordings that can be considered early examples of disco or precursors to disco: Curtis Mayfield’s nine-minute dance mix of “Move On Up” from 1971, Jerry “The Iceman” Butler’s hit 1972 version of Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff’s “One Night Affair” and the Love Unlimited Orchestra’s 1973 instrumental “Love’s Theme” (written and produced by Barry White) took dance clubs by storm. But it was in 1974 that the term “disco” began to seriously infiltrate the public consciousness thanks to hits that included George McCrae’s “Rock Your Baby,” Gloria Gaynor’s interpretation of Clifton Davis’ “Never Can Say Goodbye” and of course, the Hues Corporation’s infectious “Rock the Boat.” Originally heard on the vocal trio’s debut album, Freedom for the Stallion, in 1973, “Rock the Boat” didn’t become a hit until 1974 (when it was also included on their second album, Rockin’ Soul). And the song exploded, soaring to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the United States as well as #6 pop in the UK.

Formed in Santa Monica, California in 1969, the Hues Corporation originally consisted of St. Clair Lee (b. April 24, 1944, San Francisco, California), Karl Russell and Hubert Ann Kelly (b. April 24, 1947, Fairfield, Alabama). But by the time the group signed with RCA Records and recorded Freedom for the Stallion, Russell had been replaced by Fleming as (b. 1943, Flint, Michigan). And when Williams (who sang lead on “Rock the Boat”) left in 1974, he was  replaced by Tommy Brown. But the two males/one female combination remained through the various lineup changes.

The Hues Corporation were managed by Wally Holmes, a Los Angeles-based trumpeter/ songwriter who was also a schoolteacher. Holmes wrote “Rock the Boat” and many other songs on this reissue, which unites Rockin’ Soul and Hues’ third album, Love Corporation, on a single CD. Holmes wrote six of the ten songs on Rockin’ Soul, ranging from energetic offerings like “Into My Music,” “Love’s There,” “We’re Keepin’ Our Business” and the funky title song (a #18 R&B hit in Billboard in the U.S.) to the ballad “I Got Caught Dancing Again.” Other highlights of Rockin’ Soul include the vibrant “How I Wish We Could Do It” (a Barry White song), Allen Toussaint’s “I'll Take a Melody” and Charlie Smalls’ “Ease on Down the Road,” made famous in the Broadway musical The Wiz. And Holmes also wrote much of Love Corporation, putting his talents to work on the ballad “He’s My Home” and the soul-pop energy of   “One Good Night Together,” “When You Look Down the Road,” “Sing to Your Song,” “Gold Rush” and the title track. One of the songs on Love Corporation that Holmes didn’t write is the ballad “Long Road,” which was written by Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter—the prolific producing/songwriting team that, in the 1970s, wrote gems for the Four Tops (“Ain’t No Woman Like the One I’ve Got,” “Keeper of the Castle”), Tavares (“It Only Takes a Minute”) and many others. Lambert & Potter were certainly versatile: in addition to all their soul and pop-rock credits, they produced country-pop star Glen Campbell’s mid-1970s hits “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.).” 

Although “Rock the Boat” went down in history as one of the early hits of the Disco Era, most of the songs on this reissue are not disco per se and have more in common with the soul-pop of the Fifth Dimension and the Friends of Distinction than they do with stereotypical disco favorites like Van McCoy’s “The Hustle,” Silver Convention’s “Fly, Robin, Fly” and Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You, Baby.” And in fact, John Florez—who produced “Rock the Boat” and other Hues recordings—also worked with the Fifth Dimension and the Friends of Distinction.

Interviewed on November 17, 2014, Lambert remembered that it was Florez who brought “Long Road” to Hues’ attention. “John was a good friend, and he was a very active producer at that time,” Lambert explains. “John was always calling Brian Potter and I and asking what songs we might have that would work for his artists—and one of his artists was the Hues Corporation. John was very active with our music, which was great.”

The term “one-hit wonder” has often been used in connection with the Hues Corporation, although technically, they weren’t a one-hit wonder because they had a few other hits as well—including Freedom for the Stallion’s title track (which reached #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. in 1973) and “I Caught Your Act” (a minor hit in 1977). But none of their other singles achieved the type of mega-chartbuster success that “Rock the Boat” achieved.

Lambert recalls: “‘Rock the Boat’ was such a big hit in 1974—and when an artist has one hit that really rises above the average record, goes to #1 and is still very popular decades later, it tends to be the only song that anybody remembers. After 40 years, people still remember the Hues Corporation for ‘Rock the Boat.’ I was associated with a few of those kind of artists in the ‘70s—for example, Player. Brian Potter and I produced ‘Baby, Come Back,’ which was a #1 hit for Player in 1977. Player had other hits at the time, but nothing like ‘Baby, Come Back.’ And it was the same thing with the Hues Corporation, who were so known for ‘Rock the Boat’ that they are called a one-hit wonder.”

The Hues Corporation broke up in 1978, although they had some reunion shows in the 1990s with a lineup consisting of Lee and new members Elaine Woodard and Bruce Glover. Sadly, Lee and Williams are no longer living. Williams died in the 1990s, and Lee was 66 when he died in Lake Elsinore, California on March 8, 2011.

“Rock the Boat,” after many years, remains a club and radio favorite. But there was much more to the Hues Corporation than their signature song, and that fact is very much in evidence on this pleasing soul-pop reissue.

—Alex Henderson, November 2014

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.