- published: 24 Apr 2016
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Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō?, "Eastern Capital") [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/; officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of the world. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu?) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi?).
The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City metropolitan area, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest amount of any city.
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song written and performed by Carl Douglas and produced by Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974, at the cusp of a chopsocky film craze, and eventually rose to the top of the British and American charts, in addition to reaching number one on the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974, won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Selling Single, and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
"Kung Fu Fighting" was rated number 100 in VH1's 100 Greatest one-hit wonders, and number 1 in the UK Channel 4's Top 10 One Hit Wonders list in 2000, the same channel's 50 Greatest One Hit Wonders poll in 2006 and Bring Back ... the one-hit Wonders, for which Carl Douglas performed the song in a live concert.
The song was originally meant to be a B-side to "I Want to Give You My Everything" (written by Brooklyn songwriter Larry Weiss, and sung by Carl Douglas). The producer Biddu originally hired Douglas to sing "I Want to Give You My Everything" but needed something to record for the B-side, and asked Douglas if he had any lyrics they could use. Douglas showed several, out of which Biddu chose the one that would later be called "Kung Fu Fighting" and worked out a melody for it without taking it seriously.
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting,
those jerks were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning,
but they fought with expert timing
There was funky China men
from funky Chinatown
They were trapping when up,
they were trapping when down
It's an ancient Chinese art,
and everybody knew their part
For my friend, ain't you a stiff,
then I'm kickin' from the hip
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting,
those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning,
but they fought with expert timing
There was funky Billie Jim
and little Sammy John
He said, here comes the big boss,
let's get it on
We took the bow and made a stand,
started swaying with the hand
A sudden motion made me stiff,
now we're into a brand new trip
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting,
those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning,
but they did it with expert timing
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting,
those kids were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning,
make sure you have expert timing
Kung Fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning...