Information about Kool And The Gang
Kool & the Gang is a highly successful American jazz/R&B/soul/funk/disco group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA in 1964. They went through several musical phases in their career. They started out with a purist jazz sound, then became practitioners of R&B and funk, eventually went through a phase where they were a smooth disco ensemble, and wound up the successful period of their career recording tunes that were a mixture of pop and R&B.
In 1964 Robert formed an instrumental band called the Jazziacs with five high school friends. They changed their name to Kool & the Gang and were signed by Gene Redd to his then new De-Lite Records. They first hit the pop charts with the release of their debut, eponymous album.
Though none of the three singles from the album went far on the pop charts, their R&B success was swift and massive. Several live and studio albums followed, but 1973's Wild and Peaceful broke into the mainstream with "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging". Many reviews see 1975 album The Spirit of the Boogie as the greatest achievement of the band. However, after that album the band abandoned deep funk-music and switched to disco. Generally, the albums released after 1975 have not received the same critical recognition as their early work.
The late 1970s saw a lull in Kool & the Gang's career that ended — after new lead singer James "J.T." Taylor joined the group — with 1979's Ladies' Night, the title track from which spawned a 25-year-long tradition of ladies' nights in New Jersey dance clubs and bars. Their only #1 hit was 1980s "Celebration", off Celebrate!, produced by Eumir Deodato. More international hits followed in the early 1980s, including "Big Fun", "Get Down on It" and "Joanna". Their 1984 album Emergency yielded four top 20 hits, including "Fresh" and "Cherish." Their chart presence stopped abruptly after the Forever album, when both Taylor and Ronald Bell (who started using the name Khalis Bayyan) left the group; both would eventually return, but the hits would not.
Kool and the Gang rose to some popularity again in 1994 after "Jungle Boogie" was featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's hit cult classic Pulp Fiction. "Hollywood Swinging" appeared on the soundtrack of the 2004 videogame , playing on the funk radio station Bounce FM. Currently the band is in the studio recording a new album, for release in 2007.
"Hollywood Swinging" was also used by Jon Arons in his dance/trombone number on "Steve Harvey Show" thus earning him the title, "The Trombone Guy."
"Hollywood Swinging" was also sampled by DJ Kool in his song "Let Me Clear My Throat".
Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness" off their 1974 album "Light of Worlds" has been sampled numerous times. Most notably, it was used by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince for their version of "Summertime" as well as being featured in the 1976 smashhit Rocky. More recently, "Summer Madness" served as the background music to The Lebrons 'Swimming Pool' Nike shoe commercial and also appeared in Tony Hawk's Project 8.
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History
The group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass (born October 8, 1950, Youngstown, Ohio) and Ronald Bell on tenor saxophone (born November 1, 1951, Youngstown, Ohio); George Brown on drums (born January 5, 1949); Robert Mickens on trumpet; Dennis Thomas on alto saxophone; Claydes Charles Smith on guitar (born September 6, 1948, died June 20, 2006), and Rick Westfield on keyboards. The Bell brothers' father was an acquaintance of Thelonious Monk and the brothers were friends with Leon Thomas.)
In 1964 Robert formed an instrumental band called the Jazziacs with five high school friends. They changed their name to Kool & the Gang and were signed by Gene Redd to his then new De-Lite Records. They first hit the pop charts with the release of their debut, eponymous album.
Though none of the three singles from the album went far on the pop charts, their R&B success was swift and massive. Several live and studio albums followed, but 1973's Wild and Peaceful broke into the mainstream with "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging". Many reviews see 1975 album The Spirit of the Boogie as the greatest achievement of the band. However, after that album the band abandoned deep funk-music and switched to disco. Generally, the albums released after 1975 have not received the same critical recognition as their early work.
The late 1970s saw a lull in Kool & the Gang's career that ended — after new lead singer James "J.T." Taylor joined the group — with 1979's Ladies' Night, the title track from which spawned a 25-year-long tradition of ladies' nights in New Jersey dance clubs and bars. Their only #1 hit was 1980s "Celebration", off Celebrate!, produced by Eumir Deodato. More international hits followed in the early 1980s, including "Big Fun", "Get Down on It" and "Joanna". Their 1984 album Emergency yielded four top 20 hits, including "Fresh" and "Cherish." Their chart presence stopped abruptly after the Forever album, when both Taylor and Ronald Bell (who started using the name Khalis Bayyan) left the group; both would eventually return, but the hits would not.
Kool and the Gang rose to some popularity again in 1994 after "Jungle Boogie" was featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's hit cult classic Pulp Fiction. "Hollywood Swinging" appeared on the soundtrack of the 2004 videogame , playing on the funk radio station Bounce FM. Currently the band is in the studio recording a new album, for release in 2007.
"Hollywood Swinging" was also used by Jon Arons in his dance/trombone number on "Steve Harvey Show" thus earning him the title, "The Trombone Guy."
"Hollywood Swinging" was also sampled by DJ Kool in his song "Let Me Clear My Throat".
Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness" off their 1974 album "Light of Worlds" has been sampled numerous times. Most notably, it was used by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince for their version of "Summertime" as well as being featured in the 1976 smashhit Rocky. More recently, "Summer Madness" served as the background music to The Lebrons 'Swimming Pool' Nike shoe commercial and also appeared in Tony Hawk's Project 8.
Discography
Albums
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Singles
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 | US R&B | US Dance | UK Singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Kool and the Gang" | 59 | 19 | - | - | Kool and the Gang |
| 1970 | "Let the Music Take Your Mind" | 78 | 19 | - | - | |
| 1970 | "Funky Man" | 87 | 16 | - | - | Live at the Sex Machine |
| 1971 | "I Want To Take You Higher" | - | 35 | - | - | |
| 1971 | "Who's Gonna Take the Weight (Part One)" | - | 28 | - | - | |
| 1972 | "Love the Life You Live, Part I" | - | 31 | - | - | Music Is the Message |
| 1973 | "Funky Stuff" | 29 | 5 | - | - | Wild and Peaceful |
| 1974 | "Jungle Boogie" | 4 | 2 | - | - | |
| 1974 | "Hollywood Swinging" | 6 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1974 | "Higher Plane" | 37 | 1 | - | - | Light of Worlds |
| 1975 | "Rhyme Tyme People" | 63 | 3 | - | - | |
| 1975 | "Summer Madness" | 35 | 36 | - | - | |
| 1975 | "Spirit of the Boogie" | 35 | 1 | - | - | Spirit of the Boogie |
| 1975 | "Caribbean Festival" | 55 | 6 | - | - | |
| 1976 | "Love and Understanding (Come Together)" | 77 | 8 | - | - | Love & Understanding |
| 1976 | "Universal Sound" | - | 71 | - | - | |
| 1977 | "Open Sesame" | 55 | - | 13 | - | Saturday Night Fever soundtrack |
| 1978 | "Slick Superchick" | - | 19 | - | - | The Force |
| 1979 | "Ladies Night" | 8 | 1 | 5 | 9 | Ladies Night |
| 1980 | "Too Hot" | 5 | 3 | - | 23 | |
| 1980 | "Hangin' Out" | - | - | - | 52 | |
| 1980 | "Celebration" | 1 | 1 | 1a | 7 | Celebrate! |
| 1981 | "Jones vs. Jones" | 39 | 33 | - | 17 | |
| 1981 | "Take It To the Top" | - | 11 | - | 15 | |
| 1981 | "Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" | 17 | 1 | 16b | 29 | Something Special |
| 1982 | "Steppin' Out" | 89 | 12 | - | 12 | |
| 1982 | "Get Down on It" | 10 | 4 | - | 3 | |
| 1982 | "Big Fun" | 21 | 6 | - | 14 | As One |
| 1982 | "Hi De Hi, Hi De Ho" | - | - | - | 29 | |
| 1983 | "Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La, La, La)" | 30 | 7 | - | 6 | |
| 1983 | "Street Kids" | - | 78 | - | - | |
| 1983 | "Straight Ahead" | - | - | - | 15 | In the Heart |
| 1983 | "Joanna" | 2 | 1 | - | 2 | |
| 1984 | "Tonight" | 13 | 7 | - | - | |
| 1984 | "When You Say You Love Somebody (In the Heart)" | - | - | - | 7 | |
| 1984 | "Misled" | 10 | 3 | - | - | Emergency |
| 1985 | "Fresh" | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 1985 | "Cherish" | 2 | 1 | - | 4 | |
| 1985 | "Emergency" | 18 | 7 | 41 | 50 | |
| 1986 | "Victory" | 10 | 2 | 35 | 30 | Forever |
| 1987 | "Stone Love" | 10 | 4 | 41 | 45 | |
| 1987 | "Holiday" | 66 | 9 | - | - | |
| 1987 | "Special Way" | 72 | - | - | - | |
| 1988 | "Rags to Riches" | - | 38 | - | - | Greatest Hits & More |
| 1989 | "Raindrops" | - | 27 | - | - | Sweat |
| 1989 | "Never Give Up" | - | 74 | - | - | |
| 2005 | "Hollywood Swinging" | - | - | 5 | - | Be Cool soundtrack |
- a Celebration/Take It To the Top
- b Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)/Steppin' Out/Get Down on It
Mistaken identity
Kool & the Gang is sometimes credited with the funk song "Car Wash", but this single was actually recorded by Rose Royce. The song "Joanna" shares a striking resemblance to Wham's "Last Christmas", the songs are frequently confused when only the instrumental portions are heard. Michael's song was released in 1984.See also
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
External links
- koolandthegang.com - the official homepage
Jazz is an original American musical art form that originated around the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in and around New Orleans.
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Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists.
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Soul Music is the sixteenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1994. Like many of Pratchett's novels it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of the Disc, in this case Rock and Roll
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Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music...... Click the link for more information.
Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music that was popularized in dance clubs (discothèques) in the mid-1970s. Disco songs usually have soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady four-on-the-floor beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern
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Jersey City, New Jersey
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Location of Jersey City within Hudson County
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Country United States
State New Jersey
County Hudson
Government
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Flag
Location of Jersey City within Hudson County
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State New Jersey
County Hudson
Government
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-1964- 1965 . 1966 . 1967 1968 . 1969 . 1970 . 1971 . 1972 . 1973 .
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Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music...... Click the link for more information.
Robert "Kool" Bell (born Robert Earl Bell, 8 October 1950, Youngstown, Ohio) is an American singer and bassist, who is the founding member of the jazz / R&B / soul / funk / disco band, Kool & the Gang.
Bell grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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Bell grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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Location within the state of Ohio
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Founded 1796
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Ronald Bell, also known by his Muslim name Khalis Bayyan [1] , (born November 1 1951) is an American singer and saxophonist who was a founding member of the band Kool & the Gang.
Bell was born in Youngstown, Ohio.
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Bell was born in Youngstown, Ohio.
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Kool & the Gang is a highly successful American jazz/R&B/soul/funk/disco group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA in 1964. They went through several musical phases in their career.
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Claydes Charles Smith (September 6 1948–June 20 2006) was an American musician best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was introduced to jazz guitar by his father in the early 1960s.
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Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was introduced to jazz guitar by his father in the early 1960s.
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Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer.
Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire (including his classic works "'Round Midnight" and "Blue Monk").
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Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire (including his classic works "'Round Midnight" and "Blue Monk").
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Amos Leon Thomas Jr (born 1937, died May 8 1999) was an American avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois. He changed his name to Leone in 1974.
Thomas is best known for his work with Pharoah Sanders, particularly the 1969 song "The Creator Has a Master Plan"
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Thomas is best known for his work with Pharoah Sanders, particularly the 1969 song "The Creator Has a Master Plan"
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De-Lite Records whose formal name was De-Lite Recorded Sound Corporation was a record label specializing in R&B music. It was founded in 1969 by music producer Gene Redd [1] and one of the label's first signings was Kool and the Gang whose self-titled instrumental
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Kool and the Gang was the self-titled first album by the funk band Kool and the Gang. The album was released in 1970, and generated little impact.
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Track listing
- Kool & the Gang
- Breeze & Soul
- Chocolate Buttermilk
- Sea of Tranquility
- Give It Up
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Wild and Peaceful was the sixth album released by the funk band Kool and the Gang. The album was released in 1973, and was highly successful in the R&B charts, while also topping the Billboard charts.
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A-side(s) Jungle Boogie
B-side(s) North, South, East, West
Released November 24, 1973
Genre Funk
Length 3:04
Label Mercury
Writer(s) Kool & the Gang - Gene Redd
"Jungle Boogie
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B-side(s) North, South, East, West
Released November 24, 1973
Genre Funk
Length 3:04
Label Mercury
Writer(s) Kool & the Gang - Gene Redd
"Jungle Boogie
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Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music that was popularized in dance clubs (discothèques) in the mid-1970s. Disco songs usually have soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady four-on-the-floor beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern
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