Hooked on Swing

K-tel scored a major success with the release in 1981 of Hooked on Classics, a classical crossover album recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Louis Clark. The album consisted of medleys of familiar themes in Western classical music. K-tel recorded a similar medley album of swing music in Australia, titled "Switched on Swing," and pitched it to RCA, which declined but suggested the concept be pursued with Larry Elgart. He agreed to produce a recording of swing medleys with a disco beat programmed on a drum machine.^[1] K-tel announced its plans for Hooked on Swing in May 1982, and the album, credited to Larry Elgart and His Manhattan Swing Orchestra, was recorded and released later that month.^[2]

With a half million sales in the three months after the album was released, Hooked on Swing was RIAA-certified gold in July 1982.^[3] It rose to a high of No. 24 after spending nine weeks on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, and stayed on the chart for 37 weeks.

In July 1982, Billboard reported that "Larry Elgart's 'Hooked on Swing' collection is currently climbing the top 30. Hip industry insiders may think the medley craze is old hat, but evidently word hasn't filtered down to the public, which is still buying them in a big way."^[4]

In January 1985, Hooked on Swing was certified platinum, with a million sales.^[5]

The lead off track of the album, titled "Hooked on Swing," was released as a single, and began a climb up the music charts in June 1982. It spent nine weeks on the Billboard Top 50 Adult Contemporary chart, rising to No. 20 by July 27, 1982.

The success of Hooked on Swing prompted K-tel and Elgart to produce a sequel, Hooked on Swing 2, released in February 1983. It debuted at No. 161 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, rising as high as No. 127, and fell off the chart by June.