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Kool & the Gang are an American jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
/R&B/soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
/funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre 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....
/disco
Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
 group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is a City in Hudson County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population of Jersey City was 240,055, making it New Jersey's List of municipalities in New Jersey , behind Newark, New Jersey....
, U.S. in 1964
1964 in music

Events*January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television.*January 3 - Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show....
. They went through several musical phases in their career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth disco ensemble, and ended the successful period of their career producing pop/R&B crossovers. They have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.

group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass and Ronald Bell
Ronald Bell (musician)

Ronald Bell, also known by his Arabic name Khalis Bayyan is an United States singer, composer and saxophone who was a founding member of the band , Kool & the Gang....
 on tenor saxophone; George Brown on drums; Robert Mickens on trumpet; Dennis Thomas on alto saxophone; Claydes Charles Smith
Claydes Charles Smith

Claydes Charles Smith was an United States 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....
 on guitar, and Rick Westfield on keyboards.






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Kool & the Gang are an American jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
/R&B/soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
/funk
Funk

Funk is an United States Music genre 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....
/disco
Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
 group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is a City in Hudson County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population of Jersey City was 240,055, making it New Jersey's List of municipalities in New Jersey , behind Newark, New Jersey....
, U.S. in 1964
1964 in music

Events*January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television.*January 3 - Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show....
. They went through several musical phases in their career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth disco ensemble, and ended the successful period of their career producing pop/R&B crossovers. They have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.

History

The group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass and Ronald Bell
Ronald Bell (musician)

Ronald Bell, also known by his Arabic name Khalis Bayyan is an United States singer, composer and saxophone who was a founding member of the band , Kool & the Gang....
 on tenor saxophone; George Brown on drums; Robert Mickens on trumpet; Dennis Thomas on alto saxophone; Claydes Charles Smith
Claydes Charles Smith

Claydes Charles Smith was an United States 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....
 on guitar, and Rick Westfield on keyboards. The Bell brothers' father was an acquaintance of Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer.Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz -- he is one of only three jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time magazine -- Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epi...
 and the brothers were friends with Leon Thomas
Leon Thomas

Amos Leon Thomas Jr was an United States avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois. He changed his name to Leone in 1974 because of an interest he had in numerology at the time....
.

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
De-Lite Records

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 and one of the label's first signings was Kool and the Gang whose self-titled instrumental was their first big R&B hit in that year....
 in 1969. They first hit the pop charts with the release of their debut eponymous album
Kool and the Gang (album)

Kool and the Gang was the self-titled first album by the funk band Kool and the Gang. The album was released in 1969, and charted on the Billboard R&B album chart at #43....
.

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, with 1973's Wild and Peaceful breaking into the mainstream with "Jungle Boogie
Jungle Boogie

"Jungle Boogie" is a funk song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1973 album Wild and Peaceful . It soared to number four as a single and became hugely popular in the clubs....
" and "Hollywood Swinging
Hollywood Swinging

"Hollywood Swinging" is the name of a well known song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang. From their album Wild and Peaceful , the song became their first number one R&B single, reaching that position in June, 1974....
". Many reviews see the Gang's 1974 album Light of Worlds
Light of Worlds

Light of Worlds is the seventh album released by Kool & the Gang, released on January 1, 1974. It was later remastered by Polygram and was a second success for the band, reaching the R&B Charts at #16 and the Pop Charts at #63....
 and 1975 album Spirit of the Boogie
Spirit of the Boogie

Spirit of the Boogie was a highly successful album released in 1975 by Kool & the Gang. It can be seen as a follow-up to "Wild And Peaceful" ; The instrumental "Jungle Jazz" uses the same basic rhythm track heard in "Jungle Boogie", but lets the players improvise on their instruments ....
 as the greatest achievements of the band, with the 1975 single "Summer Madness" gaining much attention. However, after the release of those albums the band abandoned deep funk-music and switched to disco
Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
. 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
Ladies' Night (song)

"Ladies' Night" was the hit title track single on the album Ladies' Night released in 1979 by Kool and the Gang. The song as a single was a success, and became a radio staple....
 from which spawned a 25-year-long tradition of ladies' night
Ladies' night

A ladies' night is a Promotion , often at a Bar or nightclub, where female patrons get a reduced price for admission or goods.Ladies' nights in the United States have been successfully challenged in lawsuits by men who were sex discrimination against by these events, and are illegal in some jurisdictions: in California they were ruled ill...
s in New Jersey dance clubs and bars. Their only #1 hit was 1980s "Celebration
Celebration (song)

"Celebration" is a song released in 1980 by Kool & the Gang from their album Celebrate!. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 7, 1981 and held that position until February 20, 1981....
", off Celebrate!
Celebrate!

Celebrate! is a 1980 album by the funk band Kool and the Gang. The album contained the number-one hit "Celebration ", and the album itself also reached #1 on the U.S R&B Chart, and #10 on the Billboard 200....
, produced by Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato

Eumir Deodato is a Grammy Award winning Brazilian musician, record producer and arrangement, primarily based in the jazz realm but who historically has been known for eclectic melding of big band and combo jazz with varied elements of Rock /Pop music, R&B/funk, Brazilian/Latin, and symphonic or orchestral music....
. More international hits followed in the early 1980s, including "Big Fun", "Get Down on It
Get Down on It

"Get Down on It" is a song recorded by the jazz/funk/R&B/pop band Kool & The Gang on their album Something Special in 1981. The song reached number 10 on the Billboard charts, displaying some of the characteristics of a blend of disco and funk, with the title of the song repeating continuously....
" and "Joanna". Their 1984 album Emergency
Emergency (album)

Emergency is a hit album released by the funk band Kool & the Gang in 1984. The album brought a first for the band: three number one R&B singles from a single album....
 yielded four top 20 hits, including "Fresh" and "Cherish." Their chart presence stopped abruptly after the Forever
Forever (Kool and the Gang album)

Forever was an album released by the funk band Kool and the Gang in 1986. While this album did not achieve the level of success that the previous album had, it did include a pair of top ten singles on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B_Chart with "Victory" and "Stone Love" ....
 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
Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, Film producer, cinematographer and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an independent film filmmaker whose films used nonlinear and aestheticization of violence....
's well known cult classic Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 in film United States crime film by director Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclecticism dialogue, irony Black comedy, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic and popular culture references....
. The band released the album "Still Kool" in 2007.

"Hollywood Swinging" was performed by Jon Arons
Jonathan Arons

Jonathan Arons is a New York City based freelance trombonist, actor, singer, and dancer who has made a number of appearances on television, most notably for his "trombone dance" in which he plays his trombone and then dances energetically ....
 in his dance/trombone number on "Steve Harvey's Big Time
Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge

Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge was a television show on the WB Network from 2003 to 2005, hosted by Steve Harvey. In each episode, performers compete for a $10,000 prize....
" thus earning him the title, "The Trombone Guy."

"Hollywood Swinging" was also sampled by DJ Kool
DJ Kool

John W. Bowman, Jr., better known by his stage name DJ Kool is a Rapping who, in the late 1990s, produced several popular rap singles. Born in Washington, DC, his influence from his years of working the go-go and rap circuits became apparent in his music....
 in his song "Let Me Clear My Throat
Let Me Clear My Throat

"Let Me Clear My Throat" is a 1996 in music song by hip-hop artist DJ Kool from his album of the same name Let Me Clear My Throat. It was recorded live in Bahama Bay, Philadelphia....
".

Kool & 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
DJ Jazzy Jeff

Jeffrey Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply "Jazz," is an American hip hop music and R&B record producer and turntablism. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince....
 and the Fresh Prince
Will Smith

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an United Statesn actor, film producer and rapping. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film....
 for their version of "Summertime" as well as being featured in the 1976 smash hit Rocky
Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa , an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia....
. A live version of the track recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England was released in 1976 on the Love & Understanding album (De-Lite DEP 2018). Live at PJ's
Live at PJ's

Live at PJ's was the third album released by the funk band Kool and the Gang. The album was released in 1971, recorded at a local club. The band's huge commercial success would not come until a few albums later....
' track "N.T" has been sampled extensively, by artists such as Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions

Boogie Down Productions was a Hip hop music group originally comprised KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album Criminal Minded....
, Brand Nubian, De La Soul
De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop music group formed in 1987 in Amityville, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling and quirky, surreal lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres....
, N.W.A and Kris Kross
Kris Kross

Kris Kross was a teenage hip hop music duet of the early 1990s. The duo is most famous for their 1992 in music hit "Jump ", and their fashion styling?consisting of wearing their clothes backwards....
.

Discography


See also

  • List of number-one hits (United States)
    List of number-one hits (United States)

    Pre-Hot 100 era Number-one hits of 1940 Number-one hits of 1941 Number-one hits of 1942 Number-one hits of 1943 Number-one hits of 1944 Number-one hits of 1945 ...
  • List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
    List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

    This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on Billboard magazine's weekly pop singles chart.This list spans from the issue dated January 1, 1955 to the present....
  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
    List of number-one dance hits (United States)

    This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart — a weekly national survey of popular songs in United States dance clubs....
  • List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
    List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

    This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart. Billboard began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26 1974 and this is the standard music popularity chart in the United States for play in nightclubs....


External links

  • - the official homepage
  • - brief biography
  • - Kool And The Gang Concert 2008