Song of the Day: Hot Chocolate “Every 1’s a Winner” (Extended Mix)

UK disco band Hot Chocolate created musically that was both unrelentingly catchy and as people are now realizing that the critical consensus has begun to come around on them, far stranger than the group ever really get credit for. “Every 1’s a Winner” is one of their absolute best songs. Featuring an ear-worm of a distorted guitar hook (care of Harvey Hinsley‘s ingenious use of an unusual delay unit, the Marshall Time Modulator), the song is all but guaranteed to get stuck in your head. It also features a pulsing disco beat, dynamic keys and some sharp horn charts. This 1978 song was written by the band’s lead singer Errol Brown and managed to do well in the charts (while falling short of the coveted # 1 slot). The extended mix adds in some additional instrumental passages that push the song further into the realm of the cosmic.

Hot Chocolate were founded in London in 1968 and were active until 1986. Their work touched on a number of genres, from novelty reggae covers to soul to glam rock to funk to finally, disco. It was in this last genre where the group really made their mark. While best known for their #1 hit “You Sexy Thing”, the band charted a number of Top 40 hits, both in their native England and in America. The band was known for its smart arrangements, tight vocal harmonies and worship of the groove. Despite breaking up in 1986, the group reformed for a one-off tour in 1988 and again, more permanently beginning in 1992. The band were brought back to popular attention due to the use of their music in the indie-comedy hit, The Full Monty and because their work was championed by a younger generation of British indie rockers, including the likes of PJ Harvey and The Sisters of Mercy. They are sadly without their founder and singer, the Jamaican born, Errol Brown, who sadly passed away in 2015.