![]() ![]() The key track “Summer Madness” has been used in movies (Rocky) and sampled a-plenty ( Gang Starr, Boyz II Men, Erykah Badu and Mad Skillz have made the best use of the signature licks). Now producing themselves they made the experimental Light Of Worlds album in 1974, incorporating synths, Vibraphone, Mellotron, Kalimba and superb backing vocalists. It contains “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging”, massive hits that made Kool a household name. Now they were set for the big time and Wild And Peaceful is a place where anyone with an interest in pure funk could start their discovery. The first breakthrough is Good Times, a #34 smash. Still mixing originals with classic pop and soul material Live At PJ’s Hollywood saw them returning to jazzier roots with a version of Charles Lloyd’s “Sombrero Sam” while mixing their own grooves to Isaac Hayes’ “Ike’s Mood” and the wall of sound Spector classic “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” which they treated to an almighty funk work out.ġ972’s Music Is the Message saw a change of direction as the band concentrated on mostly brand new compositions with the outstanding “Love the Life You Live Part 1 and 2)” and “Soul Vibrations” moving them to the forefront of emerging disco. The track “Funky Man” was sampled by The Prodigy much later on “Smack My Bitch Up” but then K and the G have provided a generous amount of no-brainer samples for golden era Hip-Hop artists. Hardcore funk items like “Pneumonia” and “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?” hit all the right urban R&B buttons. Live at the Sex Machine (1971) was quite a revolutionary sound. Their self-titled single ”Kool And The Gang” made inroads into the R&B and Pop charts and so they arrived in style. They moved to New York and recorded their debut with Redd helming, establishing a blueprint of classy soul jazz-funk with pop licks and plenty of brass and rhythm. Already accomplished funkateers in 1964 they became one of the first acts to sign to Gene Redd’s De-Lite Records label in 1968 having now become Kool and the Gang officially. Teenagers Robert and Ronald Bell formed their first act with high-school friends, playing local jazz clubs in the Jersey City area as the Jazziacs. Jackson “Kool and the gang” in Pulp Fiction) is already embedded in the cultural consciousness. Besides, any group whose name becomes a hip piece of slang (check John Travolta telling Samuel L. In some ways Kool and the Gang are the equivalents of the Northern Soul acts so beloved by European modernists. The Hits: Reloaded offers a broader sweep of their much-loved dance floor heyday with the songs performed by various artists from the worlds of pop, soul and hip hop. Their 1984 disc Emergency is a firm favourite in the UK (as are Something Special, As One and In the Heart) and for those who want an overview there are several handy compilations to investigate: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kool and the Gang is an obvious way to discover them. Permanent fixtures on the pop and R&B chart from the outset, Kool and the Gang boast five Platinum albums with many more Gold and Silver sales.
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