
Kool And The Gang
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Kool And The Gang Biography
Formed as a jazz ensemble in the mid-'60s, Kool & the Gang
became one of the most inspired and influential funk units during the
'70s, and one of the most popular R&B groups of the '80s after
their breakout hit Celebration in 1979. Just as funky as James Brown
or Parliament (and sampled almost as frequently), Kool & the Gang
relied on their jazz backgrounds and long friendship to form a tightly
knit group with the interplay and improvisation of a jazz outfit, plus
the energy and spark of a band with equal ties to soul, R&B, and
funk.
Robert Kool Bell and his brother Ronald (or Khalis Bayyan) grew up in
Jersey City, NJ, and picked up the music bug from their father. A
professional boxer, he was also a serious jazz lover and a close friend
of Thelonious Monk. With Robert on bass and Ronald picking up an array
of horns, the duo formed the Jazziacs in 1964 with several neighborhood
friends: trombone player Clifford Adams, guitarists Charles Smith and
Woody Sparrow, trumpeter Robert Spike Michens, alto saxophonist
Dennis Thomas, keyboard player Ricky West, and drummer Funky George
Brown (all of whom, except Michens and West, still remained in the
group more than 30 years later).
The growing earthiness of soul inspired the Jazziacs to temper their
jazz sensibilities with rhythms more akin to R&B, and the newly
renamed Soul Town Band began playing clubs in Greenwich Village. After
a mix-up with a club owner resulted in the group being billed Kool
& the Flames, they moderated the title to Kool & the Gang and
found a leg up with the tiny De-Lite Records. Three singles from their
self-titled debut album hit the pop charts, and although the position
wasn't incredibly high, Kool & the Gang became a quick success on
the R&B charts. Always a staple of their appeal, the group's live
act was documented on two 1971 LPs, Live at the Sex Machine and Live at
P.J.'s, including left-field covers of Walk On By and Wichita
Lineman (as well as the not so unusual I Want to Take You Higher ).
Studio albums followed in 1972 and 1973, but it was with Kool & the
Gang's sixth LP, Wild and Peaceful, that they hit the big time. Funky
Stuff became their first Top 40 hit at the end of 1973. Then both
Jungle Boogie and Hollywood Swinging reached the pop Top Ten.
During the next four years, however, Kool & the Gang could only
manage an occasional Top 40 hit ( Higher Plane, Spirit of the
Boogie ), and though they did win a Grammy award for Open Sesame
(from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack), the rise of disco -- a
movement centered around producers and vocalists, in direct contrast to
the group's focus on instrumentalists -- had appeared to end their
popularity.
Then, in 1979, the group added two new vocalists, Earl Toon, Jr. and,
more importantly, James J.T. Taylor, a former Jersey nightclub
singer. Kool & the Gang also began working with jazz fusion
arranger Eumir Deodato, who produced their records from 1979 to 1982.
The first such album, Ladies Night, was their biggest hit yet, the
first of three consecutive platinum albums, with the Top Ten singles
Too Hot and the title track. Celebrate!, released in 1980, spawned
Kool & the Gang's only number one hit, Celebration, an anthem
favored by innumerable wedding receptions since. With Deodato, the
group produced several more hits, including the singles Take My Heart
(You Can Have It if You Want It), Get Down on It, and Big Fun, and
the albums Something Special in 1981 and As One a year later. After
Deodato left the fold in late 1982, Kool & the Gang proved their
success wasn't solely due to him; they had two immense hits during
1984-1985 ( Joanna and Cherish ), as well as two more Top Tens,
Misled and Fresh. The group's string of seven gold or platinum
records continued until 1986's Forever, after which James J.T. Taylor
amicably left the group for a solo career.
Although Taylor did reasonably well with his solo recordings (many of
which were produced by Ronald Bell), Kool & the Gang quickly sank
without him. They replaced Taylor with three vocalists, Skip Martin
(formerly of the Dazz Band), Odeen Mays, and Gary Brown, but failed to
chart their albums Sweat (1989) and Unite (1993). Taylor finally
returned to the group in 1995 for the release of a new album, State of
Affairs. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Written by John Bush