The Hues Corporation

The Hues Corporation were a pop and soul trio from Santa Monica, California. They first formed in 1969. The band members were Flemming Williams, Bernard "St. Clair Lee" Henderson, and Ann Kelley. The group's name is a pun on famous millionaire Howard Hughes (the spelling was changed to avoid legal problems). They began their music career performing at the Las Vegas casino Circus Circus and as an opening act for such artists as Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Nancy Sinatra, and Glen Campbell. The Hues Corporation appear as the awesomely funky soul group performing in a nightclub in the groovy horror blaxploitation cult favorite "Blacula." Their debut single "Freedom for the Stallion" reached #63 on the Billboard charts in 1973. In 1974 the band scored a massive smash success with "Rock the Boat;" the infectiously bubbly and upbeat tune peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts, sold a million copies, and holds the distinction of being one of the first major hit disco songs from the 70's. "Rock the Boat" has been featured on the soundtracks to such movies as "Roll Bounce," "Man on the Moon," "Lawn Dogs," "The Devil's Own," "Carlito's Way," and "The Spirit of '76," plus episodes of the TV shows "The Sopranos," "The West Wing," "Ed," and "The Simpsons." The follow-up songs "Rockin' Soul," "Love Corporation," and "I Caught Your Act" all did fairly well. The group broke up in 1978, but reunited in the 90's for various concerts and TV specials. Although Flemming Williams sadly died in 2002 following a long battle with drugs, the other two remaining members of the Hues Corporation continued to do concert performances and appeared in a 2004 PBS oldies television program. Bernard "St. Clair Lee" Henderson died at age 66 on March 8, 2011 in Lake Elsimore, California.