“The Hustle” is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony.
It went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian RPM charts, No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart and No. 3 in the UK. It would eventually sell over one million copies.
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.
According to producers Hugo & Luigi, who owned the Avco record label that originally released “The Hustle”, McCoy met with them shortly before his death in 1979. He wanted to discuss ideas for a new, longer version of the song, in order to appease Avco’s UK and German affiliates who were clamoring for a 12″ disco single release. The new version, clocking in at just under six and a half minutes, was assembled posthumously as a remix, using parts of the original recording plus new parts, including drum, Syndrum, and a “little” Moog synthesizer. It was credited to Van McCoy alone or with an unnamed orchestra, mixed by “The Mix Masters”, identity unknown.