“Rock the Boat”
The Hues Corporation was an American pop and soul trio formed in Santa Monica, California in 1969. Before achieving mainstream success, they were the opening act for a list of headliners that included Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Nancy Sinatra, and Glenn Campbell. The group’s name was “a pun on the Howard Hughes Corporation, with ‘hue’ (a synonym of ‘color’).” The band’s members at the time of their first album, Freedom for the Stallion (1973), were St. Clair Lee (1944-2011), Fleming Williams (1943-1998), and Hubert Ann Kelly (1947). The original choice for the group’s name was The Children of Howard Hughes, which their record label turned down. Hmm, I wonder why!
The song, “Rock the Boat,” was written by Wally Holmes and was first featured on their debut album mentioned above. The single edit later appeared on certain editions of the band’s 1974 second album, Rockin’ Soul. Initially, the song appeared as though it would be a flop, as months went by without any radio airplay or sales activity. But it soon became a “disco” favorite in New York and then it was finally picked up by radio stations and started to climb up the charts. It eventually sold over two million copies, becoming, as some proclaim, one of the earliest disco songs, one of the first to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song’s producer, John Florez, did not like the lyrics for “Rock the Boat,’ calling them “trite,” and it was relegated to the B-side. However, after the response from New York City’s dance clubs, Florez remixed the song to boost the bass and rhythm instruments, and it was quickly re-released, becoming a smash hit.
Although I was not a “disco” person, per se, there are many songs from that era that I enjoy and still enjoy, but this is not one of them. Perhaps I too found the lyrics to be trite and insipid. That coupled with the fact that when it took off, it was being played ad nauseum, grating on my nerves every time I heard it before frantically reaching for the dial. As the say: chacun a son goût!.
There is not much information available for Sarah Collins, other than her getting back into singing shortly after the birth of her daughter and having surgery shortly after. She inherited a “fantastic vinyl collection” of many of the songs she grew up with and decided it was time to share her love of these tunes. While I really do like her voice, which was my reason for choosing this particular cover, it is unfortunately the same lyrics worming their way into my brain. Sorry Sarah!
The Hues Corporation. “Rock the Boat” 1973/74.
Sarah Collins. “Rock the Boat” cover 2015.
Lps Angeles 2025
And the tradition continues with a worthy, or is that unworthy candidate!
Insipid, uninspired, boring, but not sure it’s THAT annoying! I think Sarah Collins has a nice voice, but it was hard to hear over the track she was singing along with.
While I guess you could say the song rocked the boat, it’s not exactly a must-know. I certainly do recall hearing it on the radio back in Germany. That said, I don’t have very strong feelings about it. Perhaps it wasn’t as much overplayed in Germany. The cover doesn’t do much for me.
Yep. Nice cover, s(t)inker of a song.
Childhood memory…but I would not seek this out anywhere lol.
Being a young gay disco baby, I LOVED “Rock the Boat” and never tired of hearing it. It’s one of my favorite songs of 1974 and ranks pretty high among my 100 favorite songs of the 70s. Sarah Collins has a pretty good voice, and does a decent voiceover here.