How the ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ Melody Came to Represent Asia
There’s a tune that you’ve probably heard throughout your life. It’s nine notes long, and it’s almost always used to signal that something vaguely Asian is happening or is about to happen.
You know what I’m talking about. The tune’s most prominent role is probably in that 1974 song, “Kung Fu Fighting.” It comes in right as Carl Douglas is singing that anthemic “Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah.”
(Just for funsies, here are some of the song’s lyrics: “There was funky China men from funky Chinatown/ They were chopping them up/ They were chopping them down/ It’s an ancient Chinese art/ And everybody knew their part.”)
It was in The Vapors’ “Turning Japanese.” It was in every cat lover’s childhood favorite, The Aristocats. (Yes, before you even ask, it was in the outlandishly racist Siamese cat scene.) It even made an appearance in Super Mario Land.
More: How the ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ Melody Came to Represent Asia : Code Switch : NPR