Kool & the Gang, the #91 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"Soul magic!"

"I love this group--great singers...just fantastic."

"Shivers down my spine.  Soul shakin', what a group."

"Music to the ears, soul words we can relate to.:

"Amazingly great songs that span generations and musical preferences.

"Awessome....never can be equalled....totally magical."

"Pure talent. Class act."

"One of the great groups from an amazing time in music."

"Their music is pure bliss."

"Great for the soul!"

Their roots were planted in funky instrumentals featuring an unbelievable homegrown horn section. Thanks to a sexy, soulful lead singer, they evolved into a smooth R&B group which was one of the dominant forces of the '80's.

This great '80's group began in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964 when seven high school friends formed an instrumental jazz and soul group called the Jazziacs. Robert "Kool" Bell played bass, his brother Ronald and Ricky West played keyboards, Robert Mickens played trumpet, Dennis Thomas was on saxophone, George Brown was the drummer and Charles Smith played guitar.

A local theatre featured a weekly jazz night and that was perfect for the Jazziacs as an opening act. The group changed their name several times, becoming the Soul Town Band and the New Dimensions. In 1969, they landed a regular gig at the Blue Note Lounge, and the group eventually became known as Kool & the Gang.

The band signed a recording contract with De-Lite Records and in 1970, released their self-titled instrumental album. Kool & the Gang released the live albums Live at the Sex Machine and Live at PJ's in 1971.

The group released the albums Music Is the Message, which included the Top Track* "Love The Life You Live".

Kool & the Gang followed with the album Good Times in 1972, but their first big success came with "Jungle Boogie" from their Gold 1974 album Wild and Peaceful. It danced up to #2 on the R&B chart and #4 overall.

"Hollywood Swinging" reached #6 on the Popular chart and gave the band their first #1 R&B hit.

Both singles sold over one million copies. Kool & the Gang released another Gold album, Light of Worlds, later in the year, which earned them an appearance on the popular television show Soul Train and a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. A Top Track* on this album is this smooth as silk instrumental, so loved and respected that it has been sampled by over 145 artists since, most famously by The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff on "Summertime" in 1991.

In 1975, the band released the album Spirit of the Boogie. Although it failed to generate a big hit, the project was one of their best, featuring the funky instrumental "Jungle Jazz". How about the flute performance of Thomas and that airtight horn section?

We also want to feature the title song, a #1 R&B smash. Get the funk on!

That amazing horn section was once again in fine form on the title song to their album Love & Understanding, which hit #8 on the R&B chart.

But several mediocre releases followed (Open Sesame in 1976, The Force in 1977 and Everybody's Dancin' in 1978) and even though they continued to chart regularly on the R&B chart, the group was languishing. "Open Sesame", which plays a prominent part in the landmark movie Saturday Night Fever during the dance contest, nevertheless helped the band earn a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1979.

Part of the reason for this is that they did not have a true lead vocalist, and at the suggestion of SOLAR Records founder Dick Griffey, the group brought in James "J.T." Taylor. Another key factor in their future success was the recruitment of producer Eumir Deodata, who greatly changed the band's musical direction in a positive way.

After these two changes, Kool & the Gang emerged as a major force in the decade to come. They now had everything in place to be superstars, which is exactly what happened. In 1979, the band released the album Ladies' Night, which included the soulful and sexy single "Too Hot", which soared to #5 overall and #3 on the R&B chart.

Ladies' Night has sold over one million copies in the U.S. alone and reached #13 on the Album chart. The title song was a strong hit in its own right, reaching #4 in Canada, #8 in the United States (#1 on the R&B chart), and #9 in the U.K.

Join us for Part Two of this legendary R&B group's story and music!