Covay joined Mercury Records in 1972, as an A&R executive, while also starting to record his album "Superdude". The album yielded two of his most successful songs, "I Was Checkin' Out, She Was Checkin' In" and "Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home". He followed up with two more successful singles, "It's Better to Have (and Don't Need)" in 1974, his only hit as a performer in the UK, followed by "Rumble in the Jungle", inspired by the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. In the late 1970s, he recorded for Philadelphia International Records but then withdrew from recording for several years, reappearing as a backing singer on the Rolling Stones' 1986 album "Dirty Work".