![]() ![]() The album features some of the last studio work from the band’s late legendary horn players Thomas and Ronald Bell. They recently released a new LP - their 34th studio album! - People Just Want To Have Fun and are touring North America this summer, along with a Las Vegas residency in October. The surviving original members – bassist Robert "Kool" Bell and drummer George Brown – are keen to continue their mission of bringing joyful music to the world with live shows and new music as long as they can. The band began in 1964 with brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald "Khalis" Bell, along with high school friends Dennis "D.T." Thomas, George Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Ricky West and Charles Smith in their hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey. In 2021, they released Perfect Union, their first original music in over a decade and final project with Ronald Bell. The band continued with a prolific release schedule through the '90s, followed by two studio albums each in the '90s and '00s. This led to a string of hit singles and albums: Ladies' Night in 1979, Celebrate! in 1980 and Something Special in 1981. In 1979, the band brought in Brazilian producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Eumir Deodato and their first lead vocalist James "J.T." Taylor. "Summer Madness" was featured in another huge blockbuster, 1976's Rocky, and in 1994, Quentin Tarantino featured "Jungle Boogie" in Pulp Fiction (and on the soundtrack), bringing their music to another generation. ![]() 1976's "Open Sesame" was featured in the wildly popular film (and soundtrack) Saturday Night Fever, cementing their status as household names in disco. Their funky tunes have also soundtracked a wide range of memorable moments in film. The group's fourth studio album, 1973's Wild And Peaceful saw them channel their funk and disco power and breakthrough into the charts and the wider public consciousness, with "Funky Stuff," "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging." ![]() Their 1970 self-titled debut album is fully instrumental and opens with a funky, swinging, jubilant mission statement that just makes you feel good. Kool & The Gang often get tagged as a disco band, but real heads know they got their start in jazz. Their chilled 1974 instrumental "Summer Madness" is featured on DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince 's "Summertime," Ice Cube 's "You Know How We Do It," and more recently, as the main instrumental in Jhené Aiko 's "Summer 2020." Elements of "Jungle Boogie" can be heard on Luniz and Mike Marshall's "I Got 5 on It," TLC 's "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg," Madonna 's "Erotica" and Public Enemy 's "Welcome to the Terrordome." Last year, 23-year-old Brazilian house sensation Mochakk paid tribute to one of their deep cuts, "Sombrero Sam," with a dance floor reimagining of the jazz track. The group's iconic horns and drums are the DNA of so much other music - over 1900 tracks - including many classic hip-hop tracks, making them one of the most-sampled bands ever. You can't go to a wedding or other big celebration without hearing one of the GRAMMY winners' many undeniably groovy, joyful classics - "Jungle Boogie" (1973), "Celebration" (1980), "Get Down On It" (1981), "Ladies Night" (1979), to name a few. įifty-nine years into their career, Kool & The Gang 's music endures and still gets the party going. ![]() Their latest album, People Just Want To Have Fun, is out now and the group are touring throughout the summer and fall. This week, spoke with Robert Bell and George Brown, respectively the bassist and drummer of legendary funk/disco group Kool & The Gang. Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music who are still going strong today. ![]()
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