Van Allen Clinton McCoy was born on January 6, 1940, in Washington, D.C. As a child, he sang with the Metropolitan Baptist Church choir. At the age of 12, he began writing his own songs and performing in local amateur shows with his older brother, Norman Jr.
McCoy was the lead singer of the doo-wop group The Starlighters, which recorded the novelty dance record "The Birdland" in 1956. After the group disbanded, he studied psychology for two years at Howard University before dropping out and moving to Philadelphia.
In Philadelphia, McCoy started his own record label, Rockin' Records, and released the single "Hey Mr. DJ" in 1959. This led to him being hired as a staff writer and A&R representative for Scepter Records. Throughout the early to mid-1960s, Van penned numerous hit songs for various artists, including The Shirelles, Jackie Wilson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Betty Everett, Ruby & The Romantics, Brenda & The Tabulations, Chris Bartley, and Barbara Lewis.
In 1966, McCoy recorded the solo album "Nighttime Is a Lonely Time" for Columbia Records, produced by Mitch Miller. He started his own short-lived label, Vando, in 1967. In the early 1970s, Van collaborated with producer and songwriter Charles Kippson on many sessions, including David Ruffin's acclaimed 1975 Motown comeback album "Who I Am." He also arranged several hits for the soul group The Stylistics, formed his own orchestra called Soul City Symphony, and recorded several albums and gave many live performances with singers Faith Hope & Charity.
In 1975, Van scored an enormous smash hit with the disco instrumental "The Hustle," which peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts in July 1975, sold well over a million copies, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Despite the surprise success of "The Hustle," McCoy was unhappy with his newfound status as a disco hitmaker and returned to writing and producing material for other artists for the remainder of his career.
Van McCoy died of a sudden massive heart attack on July 6, 1979, in Englewood, New Jersey, at the age of 39.
