Kool and the Gang

American funk and pop band from Jersey City, New Jersey, that was one of the first successful self-contained black bands of the 1970s. The principal members were Khalis Bayyan (byname of Ronald Bell; b. Nov. 1, 1951 Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.), Robert (“Kool”) Bell (b. Oct. 8, 1950 Youngstown), Claydes Smith (b. Sept. 6, 1948 Jersey City), George (“Funky”) Brown (b. Jan. 5, 1949 Jersey City), Dennis (“DT”) Thomas (b. Feb. 9, 1951 Jersey City), Robert (“Spike”) Mickens (b. Jersey City ),Rick West (original name Richard Westfield; b. Jersey City ),and James (“JT”) Taylor (b. Aug. 16, 1953 Laurens, S.C.).

The group's first charting single, “Kool and the Gang,” a horn-driven, highly rhythmic instrumental dance track, was followed by a steady string of similar singles through 1976. The band's commercial breakthrough came in 1973 with the album Wild and Peaceful, which featured the singles “Funky Stuff,” “Jungle Boogie,” and “Hollywood Swinging,” all of which reached the rhythm-and-blues Top Ten. Their sound was an innovative fusion of jazz, African rhythms, and street funk that established the band as an innovator in black music until the onset of the disco era. However, when their single “Open Sesame” was reissued on the soundtrack for the motion picture Saturday Night Fever in 1977, Kool and the Gang shifted emphasis toward pop and disco.

In 1979 the band added lead vocalist Taylor and producer Eumir Deodato, which led to a cleaner, pop-driven sound and to the crossover single “Ladies' Night.” Numerous hits followed, including the number one hit “Celebration” in 1980, as well the sentimental pop songs “Joanna” in 1983 and “Cherish” in 1985. Kool and the Gang charted more pop singles than any other act in the 1980s.

Rickey Vincent