One-Hit Wonder: Carl Douglas

Born in Jamaica, he sang with groups in Europe and his side B song became side A and topped the charts: Carl Douglas, according to imdb.com.

According to the Caribbean Hall of Fame, Douglas was born in Jamaica in 1942, and his family lived in California part of the time in the 1950s. Douglas went on to study studio engineering in England.

His first group in 1964 was The Stampeders. In 1966 in Spain, he was with the Explosions. Returning to England, Douglas joined the Gonzales. When they disbanded, Douglas started working at Pye Records as a session vocalist.

He first worked with producer Biddu in 1972 on a soundtrack for "Embassy." He then asked Douglas to sing "I Want to Give You My Everything," which Biddu was planning for side A on a record. They needed a side B song. Douglas had written some lyrics and Biddu wrote the melody. In 10 minutes, "Kung Fu Fighting" was side A and topped the charts in both Britain and America in 1974.

That success made Douglas the first Jamaican-born singer to hit No. 1 in the U.S. However, his second single "Dance the Kung Fu" was only No. 20 on the charts in Britain. In 1977, his "Run Back" hit No. 30 on the charts in Britain.

A number of movies have featured "Kung Fu Fighting," including Daddy Day Care and Beverly Hills Ninja. He did record a number of records, most recently in 2005, according to his website.

Carl Douglas lives in Germany. His publishing company supplies films and advertisements with music.