A whopping twenty-three members have come and gone throughout the various iterations of Kool & The Gang, with only three members staying consistently from its inception to present formation. Those three are, Robert "Kool" Bell, George Brown, and Dennis Thomas . Ronald Bell most likely would have joined that roster, but sadly passed away in 2020.
The group was formed in 1964, working in these early days as part of jazz scene in a local theater every Sunday. They underwent several name and style changes, becoming notable for their Motown covers. However, by 1967, the decision was made to form their own identity under the name, Kool & The Flames. At the suggestion of their manager, who thought they would be confused with James Brown's The Famous Flames, the name was changed a final time to Kool & The Gang.
A recording contract was secured with De-Lite Records, under which
the group would release sixteen albums between 1969 and 1984. PolyGram
purchased the company in 1977and in 1985 transferred Kool and the Gang to their sub-label Mercury Records.
It was with the coming of disco, and the band's embrace of it, that they scored their first success with 1973's Wild And Peaceful. This success continued with 1974's Light Of Worlds. Unfortunately, this was followed by a decline in popularity and sales through 1978. Their only brief return to popularity was for the 1977 Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
1979 brought with it two distinct changes to Kool & The Gang. The first was to bring in a dedicated lead singer. Enter James "J.T." Taylor, who would consecutively front the band through 1988. The second was Brazilian musician, songwriter, and arranger Eumir Deodato, who was added as their producer. Deodato helped them move towards mainstream pop and dance-oriented music with greater emphasis on catchy hooks and chorus lines. The changes led to the commercial success they wanted and needed.
Ladies Night, released in 1979 was the groups first of many to come platinum albums. On its heels were 1980's Celebrate!, 1981's Something Special, 1982's As One, 1983's In The Heart, and 1984's Emergency. The latter of which is where we kick off today's Retro Spins.
Emergency kicks off with the title track, and from there keeps things in high energy with Fresh, and Misled, before coming down a bit to deliver the coup de grace with Cherish. The album stays mellow from there, and quite honestly doesn't deliver as hard as the first half.
It's interesting to note in reviewing the history of this album that I am apparently not the only person to feel this way. All of the above noted track were top forty hits for Kool & The Gang, while the last three seem to have been relatively forgotten, garnering no attention.
Their follow up album, 1986's Forever saw the group's sales once again start to decline, and in 1988 Taylor left to focus on a solo career. Kool & The Gang wouldn't release another album until 1992's Unite, and upon Taylor's return in 1996, they released State Of Affairs. However, at this point they had long since been overtaken by the traditional sounds filling 90's airwaves, and little attention was paid to their reunion.
Kool & The Gang would once again return in 2001, and have continued to release albums through 2021. With exception of 2007's Still Kool, which went platinum, most of the albums released during this period have been commercial failures.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS February 4, 1984 |
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS February 4, 1989 |
No comments:
Post a Comment