When Kool and The Gang Ruled The World
From 1980 to 1984, Kool and the Gang were one of the biggest crossover acts in all of music. What? Kool and the Gang? Although it seems odd now, Kool and the Gang were a veritable hit machine powered by undeniable songs like “Celebration,” “Cherish” and “Fresh.” While the band made it look easy, there was little or nothing to suggest such a breadth of hits or staying power on the charts.
At their best, the early versions of Kool and The Gang seemed a bit pedestrian in comparison to their counterparts. Formed in New Jersey in 1964, the core members included Robert “Kool” Bell (bass), Ricky Bell (keyboard) Dennis D.T. Thomas (saxophone), George Smith (guitar) and George Brown (drums.) By 1969, the road-tested and increasingly popular band called themselves Kool and the Gang. In the same year the band signed to De-Lite Records, a second-tier, R&B label and shortly after De-Lite signed on with Pickwick International, a company known for budget packaging from popular artists.
The band started to catch fire and soon caught a wave by the early to mid ’70s. The ingratiating “Funky Stuff” (#5 R&B, #29 Pop) from 1973 set them on course and the hits soon followed. The cartoonish “Jungle Boogie (#2 R&B, #4 Pop), and the spare and limber “Hollywood Swinging (#1 R&B, #6 Pop) ” became gold singles. The spate of hits lead to appearances of TV shows of the day Soul Train and American Bandstand.
Despite their ubiquity, the band came off as a bit bland in an era of flashy characters. Unlike bands like War, Parliament/Funkadelic and the Ohio Players, the public seemed to be fine with the band’s relative anonymity and didn’t feel the need to investigate further. It didn’t matter. Albums Wild and Peaceful and Light of World both went gold. Despite the hits, at best Kool and the Gang were never viewed as innovators and they could easily be a song or two away from total obscurity.
By 1975 competition was getting stiff and the band’s work couldn’t compensate. Songs like “Love and Understanding” and even the special disco version of “Caribbean Festival” couldn’t hide the fact that the band getting a bit tired around the edges. The group got a reprieve when 1976’s “Open Sesame” appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and gave an instantly dated song a new life.
By 1977, Kool and the Gang hit a wall. Despite the success of the legendary Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the newer work was uninspiring. The Force was released in 1977 and featured “Slick Superchick” a easy, dance-y groove also received a dance-filled lip-sync video in the way of promotion. The sales however were dwindling and being another mediocre R&B act wasn’t going to get the job done, other measures had to be taken.
In 1979, Kool and the Gang changed course and hired a lead singer, James “JT” Taylor. On the surface he seemed bland, uninspiring, but Taylor offered something very interesting. Like Lenny Williams and Peter Cetera, their respective timbres cut through the mix and remained clear and powerful over the horns, etc. In Taylor’s case, he possessed a casual yet piercing tenor and he offered a new style for the fading band.
During this time, the band got together with producer Eumir Deodato. On paper Deodato seemed to be an odd choice. Deodato was mostly known from his early ’70s easy listening jazz albums like Prelude and The First Cuckoo. In short, nothing that would suggest that he would be a good producer for the group. That didn’t turn out to be the case. While the work on late ’70s Deodato albums like Love Island and Knight Fantasy could be gauche, with Kool and the Gang he had a context and an outlet for the newer sounds he was exploring. Deodato quickly harnessed their energy and made their recordings sound better.
The resulting work was impressive. The first single, “Ladies Night” debuted Taylor’s voice to the Gang’s both new and established audience. While Taylor wasn’t a vocal powerhouse, his voice had the timbre to connect with the Kool and the Gang sound: it wasn’t too high or gruff and had enough smooth and rough edges to appeal to the pop and R&B charts equally. The smooth and urbane” Ladies Night” (#1 R&B, #9 Pop) received a no frills “performance” video and it helped to propel the song to instant classic status. The poignant ballad, “Too Hot” (#3 R&B, #5 Pop) showed the band’s versatility. Ladies Night (#1 R&B, 13 Pop) gave the band its first platinum album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtM8raJ4EBg
Kool and the Gang’s chart rebirth was all well and good but a later song and album brought them even more success – for better or worse. “Celebration” (#1 R&B, #1 Pop) a canny yet annoying all-purpose anthem quickly became a pop phenomenon. To many fans, “Celebration” might have caused the band to get a bit toothless but all wasn’t lost yet. The album Celebrate! also went platinum and featured a sharp, R&B divorce ballad, “Jones v Jones.”
In the space of two short albums, Kool and the Gang went from being a nearly extinct, R&B outfit to one of the biggest bands in music. The
band’s label De-Lite’s fortunes also played a part in the production and promotion of the band’s work. In 1977 De-Lite left the confines of Pickwick Records for the emerging and powerful Polygram Records.
By the early ’80s, Kool and the Gang’s continued success seemed mystifying, but in retrospect, the reason was simple. Unlike other groups like LTD and The Commodores, Kool and the Gang actually retained their chief singer and stayed together as the music scene changed. That gave Kool and the Gang an edge due to familiarity as well as a heightened sense of purpose, a sympathetic producer as well as a public who clearly loved them.
The video medium treated the band extremely well. The band didn’t deviate from the “Ladies Night” template as videos like “Get Down On It (#4 R&B, #10 Pop ), “Steppin’ Out” #4 R&B, #89 pop) and “Take My Heart” (#1 R&B, #17 Pop), “Ooh-La-La-La (Let’s Go Dancin’) (#7 R&B and #30 Pop) all made for a solid collection of hits.
“Let’s Go Dancin'” was the peak of the era and featured the band as cool black males, non-sellouts and not neutered for pop consumption. In particular, James “JT” Taylor became the main attraction due to his amiable personality and his charming video presence and he was all but the embodiment of the band’s success. On an early ’80s episode of American Bandstand, Dick Clark reminisced on a “dark period” (the late ’70s) and of course by the ’80s time, they were out of it.
Although Kool and the Gang had changed from a disco-dance and early ’80s R&B group, often things had changed. Producer Eumir Deodato was out after 1982’s As One. The Kool and the Gang sound was now being produced by the band itself as well as Jim Bonnefield.
By the early to mid ’84, the musical strains were seen although they were still riding high. Songs like “Tonight” and “Misled” might have added too much pop to the mix which often led to talk for R&B acts being labeled a “sell-out.” Still the act was lucky as even the gooey, old-timey “Joanna” (#1 R&B, #2 Pop) seemed to straddle the line but it didn’t quite touch it. The treacly ballad “Cherish” did. Despite the queasiness, “Cherish” managed to hit #1 on both the US Billboard Hot Black Singles and US Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.
Like other groups (particularly in R&B) their post-disco clothes gave way to cutting-edge, asymmetrical fashions and designs. That look typified the cover of 1984’s Emergency and it made “Ladies Night” seem like it was from the silent era. If folks were too worried, the streetwise and radio ready “Fresh” (#1 R&B, #9 Pop) gave the band a cultural and musical reprieve. Although long-time fans loved the confident and funky edge, the video itself was a corny affair that seemed to be engineered for maximum airplay.
Kool and the Gang’s magical ride ended with 1986’s Victory. The band had become a bit ingratiating and too eager for pop acceptance. All traces of their R&B roots had started to disappear and was replaced with annoying sparkly tops, fey choreography and neutered songs that had people all but crying out for “Hollywood Swinging.” Not surprisingly, lead singer JT Taylor left the band in late 1986 to embark on a solo career. The group continued with a series of lead singers yet none had the spark of Kool and the Gang’s salad years. In 1996, JT Taylor reunited with his old band mates for the album State of Affairs.
The best of Kool and the Gang’s work is timeless and can be captured well on compilations. The 1983, UK 2 LP set Twice As Kool: The Hits of Kool and The Gang is a brilliant work that bridges the eras and offers classics like the 12″ version of “Ladies Night” as well as kinetic, early ’80s album cuts like “Street Kids.”
For a group with a few distinct eras, Kool and the Gang’s oeuvre is one of joy, professionalism and undeniable soulfulness that outlived its brief though important time as one of pop music’s biggest acts.
