Kool & the Gang, a group that has been active since 1964, is an inspirational and highly influential group that has become the longest running and one of the most successful groups in the history of R&B and pop music. They have received national and international recognition for their contribution to music and their community, and through highs and lows of their career have become one of the most influential and recognizable music groups in the US.
Birth and Development of the Jazziacs
Beginning with Robert “Kool” Bell and Ronald Bell in Youngstown, Ohio, the pair began to create makeshift bongos out of paint cans. They would clean out the cans, paint the outsides to imitate the wooden texture of bongos and congas, and used them to create music together. When the Bell family moved to Jersey City a few years later, they were able to buy real bongos, continued to play, and started their group The Jazziacs. The group consisted of Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, Robert “Spike” Mickens, and Dennis “D.T.” Thomas; later included George “Funky” Brown, Ricky West, and Charles Smith also known as Claydes.
The Founding Seven Members
Early Development: Performances and Rebranding
The group was officially established in 1964, in Jersey City, New Jersey with the original seven members, who we now know as the founding members of Kool & the Gang. After forming the group, they began performing in local lounges and were weekly openers for jazz nights around New Jersey. With more performance experience, they were seeking to change their group name. The name was changed several times before arriving at Kool & the Flames, but this was too close to the group The Famous Flames which resulted in the next and final change, Kool & the Gang in 1969.
Early Influences
This young group of jazz musicians were inspired by artists like Thelonious Monk as well as the Cuban folk drums, bongos. They were also inspired by McCoy Tyner and Leon Thomas who they performed alongside very early on in Jersey. Other early influences during their early professional careers include Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, who they wanted to be produced by.
Professional Career
Introduction to the Professional Music Industry: Minimal Exposure
After finalizing the name with their producer Gene Redd, Kool & the Gang released a single with the label Red Coach, and later signed to De-Lite Records where the instrumental single “Kool and the Gang”/ “Raw Hamburger” was released again, leading them to become the labels most successful act.
They took the single, “Kool and the Gang” to the best place possible for young breakout stars, The Apollo Theatre. Unfortunately, they were outperformed by Willie Feaster and The Mighty Magnificents. After this performance, the group realized they needed to evolve past standard jazz musicians and become entertainers. Thus began the change from solely instrumental to incorporating vocals and performance aspects such as choreography. The next two albums with De-Lite Records, Live at the Sex Machine and Live at PJ’s, were released in 1971 before the group began to self-produce after separating from Gene Redd and De-Lite Records. Their next album released in 1972, Music Is the Message, was self-produced and reached No. 25 on the R&B chart. They released another album, Good Times, in the same year but despite both albums doing decently well they were not making enough radio contact to be popularized. Both the lack of radio exposure for this album and their diverse music style which incorporated several genres like jazz and rock, made it difficult to gain an audience or receive reviews. This resulted in yet another rebranding, as the group circled back again to develop new ideas and a new sound for the group.
The Highs and Lows of Diversification
As disco emerged, the group attempted to adapt to the new style while also remaining true to themselves. They released their fourth studio album, Wild and Peaceful, was again self-produced and highly successful. This album was the group’s first time making the Top 40 Pop chart and gave us the popularized tracks “Funky Stuff”, “Jungle Boogie”, and “Hollywood Swinging”. The album was certified Gold after “Funky Stuff” and “Jungle Boogie” both sold over a million copies each.
They followed their gold album with the release of three albums, Open Sesame, The Force, and Everyone’s Dancing, all of which had heavy bass drums, string sections, and female background vocals to incorporate the characteristics of disco. Unlike their predecessor Wild and Peaceful, these albums were not as successful and received poor reviews. However, their family-like group morale was upheld through this rough time as they began to brainstorm ideas to make a comeback. They communicated ideas for future projects as well as the ’what ifs’ of the industry to ensure they would have a plan if they were unsuccessful again in the future. They decided that they wanted to focus on diversifying into other areas of music and have songs that relate and reach multiple groups of people. This was a turning point for the group, and in 1979 they decided that they needed a lead vocalist.
The Recovery
The lead vocalist chosen was James “J.T.” Taylor, who in an interview said he originally came to audition for a background vocalist position. After being pulled aside by Ronald Bell he was Taylor was asked to freestyle to some chord progressions and was later asked to be the lead vocalist for the group. At this time, the group also started working with a new producer by the name Eumir Deodato, who moved the group towards pop and dance music. The next three albums released with Deodato were very successful and provided the group with their most popular album and single to date.
In September 1979 they released Ladies’ Night, their most popular album, and had singles that were in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Ladies’ Night was certified as platinum after selling one million copies in the United States. One year later in September 1980, the group released the album Celebrate!, and the leading single “Celebration” was their most popular song ever, and the only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition to the single’s success on the charts, it was also popularized nationally in the media and has been used for sports advertising and national campaigns. Examples of this include the 1981 Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and the song is still used today in company advertisements, movies, and more.
The group released two more albums with Deodato before deciding to separate and return to self-production. Their next two albums, In the Heart in 1983 and Emergency in 1984, had five total Top 5 US singles between them and led the group to have fourteen Top 40 singles in six years.
Tours, Group Division, and New Projects
The group went on a US tour in 1987 traveling to fifty cities, which allowed them to introduce their involvement in public service programs focusing on children. Unfortunately, after its completion several members departed from the group after more than twenty years of involvement. Despite this and the rejoining of some members, the remaining members continued to create projects and even diversified themselves again to create their 21st studio album that incorporated hip hop elements. As time went on, the group became less active in production but still maintained their community involvement, continued to travel, and performed, and performed as an opener on tour. As they began to slow down, they also began to receive awards for their achievements.
What are they doing now?
In the last few years, the group has experienced great loss with the passing of Ronald Bell, who became known as Khalis, in 2020, and Dennis Thomas in 2021. Additionally in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the remaining members to cancel the rest of their tour. In 2021, the group’s 25th album produced by Robert Bell before his death was released, titled Perfect Union.
Today, the group maintains their community involvement and still actively perform each year on a non-stop schedule with concert dates for the new year beginning as early as February 2023. They also released a new single “Let’s Party” on October 14, 2022, which is advertised on their website https://www.koolandthegang.com/ , which is frequently updated.
Contemporaries
Over their 50+ years of musical production, Kool & the Gang has several contemporaries. The decades included are their most active years.
1960s
- Willie Feaster and The Mighty Magnificents
- The Famous Flames
1970s
- KC and the Sunshine Band
- Chic
- Gladys Knight & The Pips
- The Temptations
1980s
- Earth, Wind, & Fire
- The Isley Brothers
- The Gap Band
- New Edition
Influences: Impact on the Music Industry
The legacy of Kool & the Gang is an obvious one as they have influenced almost 30 years of musicians and become the most sampled band in hip-hop and the second most sampled in R&B. Notable artists who have sampled them include, Jay-Z, Cypress Hill, Diddy, Janet Jackson, Madonna, the Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, and more.
Achievements and Awards
Over approximately 50 years, Kool & the Gang has earned two Grammy Awards including one for Album of the Year and seven American Music Awards. Over the group’s 25 album career, they have had 25 Top 10 R&B Hits, 9 Top 10 Pop Hits, and 31 gold and platinum albums.
Kool & the Gang was awarded the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group in 1982, 1983, and 1986.
In 1982, they were awarded the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo or Group.
In 2003, they were given a MOBO Award for Outstanding Achievement.
In 2014, they were honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2015, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
In 2016, a street in New Jersey was renamed “Kool and the Gang Way” in their honor.
In 2019 they were given the Marian Anderson Award.
Other recognitions include, the single “Celebration” being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Robert “Kool” Bell’s bass being displayed in the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
Social Involvement
Kool & the Gang has always been involved in international public service and often had a heavy focus on giving back to children. Examples of this were seen early with their involvement in Big Brother Big Sister, and them being the first to be involved with Color Sound. Color Sound was an organization that taught inner city kids to read, speak, spell, and write. In an interview it was said that they, “wanted to be role models for every individual in the world, especially the children”.
They have also worked with Boys and Girls Club of America, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the United Negro College Fund, the Children’s Miracle Network, and also worked with Parx Casino and the Universal Family of schools to create a fundraiser for students in Philadelphia.
Musically, they participated in a British charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas” in 1984 which raised money for a famine relief project in Ethiopia. They were the only American band to participate.
“We try to be as universal as possible, open-minded, and try to help as much as we can. Being musicians is one thing, but also being humanitarians in terms of helping out various causes also plays an important role. I believe that's a very important element in a group of our size to stay together”
Discography
- Kool and the Gang (1969)
- Music Is the Message (1972)
- Good Times (1972)
- Wild and Peaceful (1973)
- Light of Worlds (1974)
- Spirit of the Boogie (1975)
- Love & Understanding (1976)
- Open Sesame (1976)
- The Force (1977)
- Everybody’s Dancin’ (1978)
- Ladies’ Night (1979)
- Celebrate! (1980)
- Something Special (1981)
- As One (1982)
- In the Heart (1983)
- Emergency (1984)
- Forever (1986)
- Sweat (1989)
- Unite (1992)
- State of Affairs (1996)
- Gangland (2001)
- The Hits: Reloaded (2004)
- Still Kool (2007)
- Kool for the Holidays (2013)
- Perfect Union (2021)
