Henry Stone and The Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, “I Had Two Songs On There”

“Saturday Night Fever? I got two of my records on the soundtrack, a KC and The Sunshine Band record, and a Ralph MacDonald record. Here’s how it happened. I was in California at a convention and the CEO doing the movie wanted to use some of Neil Bogart’s stuff from Casablanca Records. They had a big fight or something; And this is where the luck part comes in. I was walking down the hall and the guy says, “Henry, Henry! Where ya been man? I’ve been looking for you.”

I sez, “Here I am.”

He says, “Let me ask ya something. I’m doin’ this thing, Saturday Night Fever. We need music. Can I use a couple of your songs?”

I sez, “You got em’.”

Just like that. No advance, no nothin, man. I gave him, well not gave, but got two songs on the soundtrack. “Boogie Shoes” by KC and The Sunshine Band, and “Calypso Breakdown” by Ralph MacDonald. And then, what’d it sell, 20 million LP’s? Just for doing a favor.

They went crazy after the disco era and thought everything was gonna be another Saturday Night Fever, they shipped records like crazy y’know, and all that stuff is returnable. It is and it isn’t, but try to collect your money, you’re gonna get records back. So thats what happened. The returns were way out of wack.

You just gotta remember, it’s all done by people, and distribution is everything.”

• From a 2013 interview with Henry Stone.

©Jacob Katel and ©Henry Stone Music USA Inc. All Rights Reserved.