The Hues Corporation’s 1974 song “Rock the Boat” is often credited as the first disco single to top the Billboard Hot 100.
Released in early 1974, the song combined a smooth soul vocal, a prominent bass line, orchestral touches and a steady dance rhythm. It became a major summer hit in the United States and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1974.
The song is frequently discussed alongside “Love’s Theme” and “Rock Your Baby” in histories of disco’s emergence. There is some variation in how historians define the first disco record, because disco developed gradually from soul, funk, R&B and club music rather than beginning on one precise date.
“Rock the Boat” was written by Wally Holmes and recorded by the New York-based Hues Corporation. Its success helped show that dance-oriented records could move from clubs into mainstream pop, a central development in the disco era.