Kool & The Gang music videos

Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, funk and disco group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.

They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth pop-funk ensemble, and in the post-millennium creating music with a modern, electro-pop sound.

They have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.

The group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass and Ronald Bell on tenor saxophone, lead vocalist James "J.T." Taylor, George Brown on drums, Robert Mickens on trumpet, Dennis Thomas on alto saxophone, Claydes Charles Smith on guitar, and Rick Westfield on keyboards. The Bell brothers' father was an acquaintance of Thelonious Monk, and the brothers were friends with Leon Thomas.

In 1964 Robert formed an instrumental band called the Jazziacs with five high-school friends.[citation needed]They changed their name to Kool & the Flames in 1967, then Kool & the Gang in 1969(to avoid confusion with James Brown's Famous Flames) and were signed by Gene Redd to his new record label De-Lite Records in 1969.[3] They first hit the pop charts with the release of their debut eponymous album.

Though none of the three singles from the album went far on the pop charts, their R&B success was swift and massive. Several live and studio albums followed, with 1973's Wild and Peaceful breaking into the mainstream with "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging". Many reviews see the Gang's 1974 album Light of Worlds and 1975 album Spirit of the Boogie as the greatest achievements of the band, with the 1975 single "Summer Madness" gaining much attention. However, after the release of those albums the band abandoned deep funk music and switched to pop-funk.

The late 1970s saw a lull in Kool & the Gang's except for the album Open Sesame which yielded the title track "Open Sesame" which achieved some success in the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Then came new lead singer James "J.T." Taylor who joined the group — with 1979's Ladies' Night. Their number one hit in 1980's "Celebration", from Celebrate!, co-produced by Eumir Deodato. More international hits followed in the early 1980s, including "Big Fun", "Get Down on It", and "Joanna". Their 1984 album Emergency yielded four top-20 pop hits, including "Fresh" and "Cherish". Their chart presence stopped after Forever. Taylor left the group amicably to pursue a solo career.

Kool & the Gang today

Of Kool & the Gang's original members, the Bell brothers, Brown and Thomas are still with the group. Ricky Westfield, the group's original keyboardist, left in 1976 to form his own band, and died in 1985. Guitarist Claydes Smith died after a long illness on June 20, 2006, at age 57. Original trumpet player Robert "Spike" Mickens, who had retired in 1986 due to poor health, died at age 59 on November 2, 2010, at a nursing home in Far Rockaway, New York. Longtime members who continue to perform and record with the group include Clifford Adams (trombone), Curtis Williams (keyboards) and trumpeters Larry Gittens and Michael Ray.

"Jungle Boogie" was featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's well known cult classic Pulp Fiction. The band released the album "Still Kool" in 2007.

"Hollywood Swinging" was sampled by DJ Kool in his song "Let Me Clear My Throat," and by rapper Mase on "Feel So Good".

Kool & the Gang's "Summer Madness" from their 1974 album Light of Worlds has been sampled numerous times. Most notably, it was used by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for their 1991 single "Summertime". "Summer Madness" was also featured in the 1976 Picture of the Year, "Rocky". A live version of the track recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London was released in 1976 on the Love & Understanding album (De-Lite DEP 2018). Live at PJ's' track "N.T" has been sampled extensively by artists such as Boogie Down Productions, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, N.W.A and Kris Kross. The song was also sampled by Jermaine Dupri featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg in the song, "We Just Wanna Party with You" from the soundtrack to the film in 1997, Men in Black: The Album starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Kool & the Gang performed at Jerusalem's Gan Sacher (Sacher Park) during the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Student Day/Jerusalem Day all-night concert on May 11–12, 2010. In October 2010, Kool & the Gang signed with indie label Expat Records for the release of their electro-pop single "Miss Lead" with a female lead vocalist.[4]

Kool & the Gang performed at Glastonbury, England, on 26 June 2011.

1969 Kool and the Gang — —
1972 Music Is the Message — —
Good Times 142 —
1973 Wild and Peaceful 33 —
1974 Light of Worlds 63 —
1975 Spirit of the Boogie 48 —
1976 Love & Understanding 68 —
Open Sesame 110 —
Behind the Eyes — —
1977 The Force 142 —
1978 Everybody's Dancin' 207 —
1979 Ladies' Night 13 —
1980 Celebrate! 10 —
1981 Something Special 12 10
1982 As One 29 49
1983 In the Heart 29 18
1984 Emergency 13 47
1986 Forever 25 —
1989 Sweat — —
1993 Unite — —
1996 State of Affairs — —
2001 Gangland — —
2004 The Hits: Reloaded — 56
2007 Still Kool — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit] Live albums
Year Title U.S. UK[1]
1971 Live at the Sex Machine 122 —
Live at PJ's 171 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit] Compilation albums
Year Album U.S. UK[1]
1971 The Best of Kool and the Gang 157 —
1974 Kool Jazz 187 —
1975 Kool & the Gang Greatest Hits! 81 —
1978 Spin Their Top Hits 208 —
1983 Twice as Kool (The Hits of Kool & the Gang) — 4
1988 Everything's Kool & the Gang: Greatest Hits & More 109 —
The Singles Collection — 28
1990 Kool Love — 50
1993 The Best of Kool & The Gang: 1969-1976 — —
1994 Celebration: The Best of Kool & The Gang (1979–1987) — —
1999 The Very Best of Kool & the Gang — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit] Singles
Year Title U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Dance U.S. AC UK[1] Certifications
(sales thresholds)
[2]
Album
1969 "Kool and the Gang" 59 19 — — — Kool and the Gang
" The Gangs Back Again" 85 — — — —
1970 "Let the Music Take Your Mind" 78 19 — — —
" Funky Man" 87 16 — — — Live at the Sex Machine
1971 "I Want to Take You Higher" 105 35 — — —
" Who's Gonna Take the Weight (Part One)" 113 28 — — —
1972 "Love the Life You Live, Part I" 107 31 — — — Music Is the Message
1973 "Funky Stuff" 29 5 — — — Wild and Peaceful
1974 "Jungle Boogie" 4 2 — — —

US: Gold

"Hollywood Swinging" 6 1 — — —

US: Gold

"Higher Plane" 37 1 — — — Light of Worlds
1975 "Rhyme Tyme People" 63 3 — — —
" Summer Madness" 1 35 36 — — 17
" Spirit of the Boogie" 35 1 — — — Spirit of the Boogie
" Caribbean Festival" 55 6 — — —
1976 "Love and Understanding (Come Together)" 77 8 — — — Love & Understanding
" Universal Sound" 101 71 — — —
1977 "Open Sesame" 55 — 13 — — Open Sesame
" Super Band" 101 — — — —
1978 "Slick Superchick" 102 19 — — — The Force
1979 "Ladies' Night" 8 1 5 — 9

US: Gold

Ladies' Night
1980 "Too Hot" 5 3 — 11 23

US: Gold

"Hangin' Out" 103 — — — 52
" Celebration" 2 1 1 1 34 7

US: Platinum

Celebrate!
1981 "Take It to the Top" 2 — 11 1 — 15
" Jones vs. Jones" 1 39 33 — — 17
" Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" 3 17 1 16 — 29 Something Special
1982 "Steppin' Out" 3 89 12 16 — 12
" Get Down on It" 3 10 4 16 — 3

US: Gold

"Big Fun" 21 6 — — 14 As One
" Hi De Hi, Hi De Ho" — — — — 29
" Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La, La, La)" 30 7 — — 6
1983 "Street Kids" — 78 — — —
" Joanna" 2 1 — 2 2

US: Gold

In the Heart
1984 "Tonight" 13 7 — — —
" Straight Ahead" 103 — — — 15
" When You Say You Love Somebody (In the Heart)" — — — — 7
" Misled" 10 3 — — 28 Emergency
1985 "Fresh" 9 1 1 5 11
" Cherish" 2 1 — 1 4

US: Gold

"Emergency" 18 7 41 — 50
1986 "Victory" 10 2 35 35 30 Forever
1987 "Stone Love" 10 4 41 11 45
" Holiday" 66 9 — — —
" Special Way" 72 — — 6 —
1988 "Rags to Riches" — 38 — — — Greatest Hits & More
1989 "Raindrops" — 27 — — — Sweat
" Never Give Up" — 74 — — —
2005 "Hollywood Swinging" — — 5 — — Be Cool soundtrack
2010 "Miss Lead"

Videos: Kool & The Gang

Big Fun

Celebration

Cherish

Emergency

Fresh

Get Down On It

Jones vs. Jones

Let's Go Dancing (Ooh, La, La, La)

Misled

No Show

Steppin' Out

Strong

Take My Heart


	# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
	Videos: Kool & The Gang Big Fun Celebration Cherish Emergency Fresh Get Down On It Jones vs. Jones Let's Go Dancing (Ooh, La, La, La) Misled No Show Steppin' Out Strong Take My Heart Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, funk and disco group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964. They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth pop-funk ensemble, and in the post-millennium creating music with a modern, electro-pop sound. They have sold over 70 million albums worldwide. The group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass and Ronald Bell on tenor saxophone, lead vocalist James "J.T." Taylor, George Brown on drums, Robert Mickens on trumpet, Dennis Thomas on alto saxophone, Claydes Charles Smith on guitar, and Rick Westfield on keyboards. The Bell brothers' father was an acquaintance of Thelonious Monk, and the brothers were friends with Leon Thomas. In 1964 Robert formed an instrumental band called the Jazziacs with five high-school friends.[citation needed]They changed their name to Kool & the Flames in 1967, then Kool & the Gang in 1969(to avoid confusion with James Brown's Famous Flames) and were signed by Gene Redd to his new record label De-Lite Records in 1969.[3] They first hit the pop charts with the release of their debut eponymous album. Though none of the three singles from the album went far on the pop charts, their R&B success was swift and massive. Several live and studio albums followed, with 1973's Wild and Peaceful breaking into the mainstream with "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging". Many reviews see the Gang's 1974 album Light of Worlds and 1975 album Spirit of the Boogie as the greatest achievements of the band, with the 1975 single "Summer Madness" gaining much attention. However, after the release of those albums the band abandoned deep funk music and switched to pop-funk. The late 1970s saw a lull in Kool & the Gang's except for the album Open Sesame which yielded the title track "Open Sesame" which achieved some success in the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Then came new lead singer James "J.T." Taylor who joined the group — with 1979's Ladies' Night. Their number one hit in 1980's "Celebration", from Celebrate!, co-produced by Eumir Deodato. More international hits followed in the early 1980s, including "Big Fun", "Get Down on It", and "Joanna". Their 1984 album Emergency yielded four top-20 pop hits, including "Fresh" and "Cherish". Their chart presence stopped after Forever. Taylor left the group amicably to pursue a solo career. Kool & the Gang today Of Kool & the Gang's original members, the Bell brothers, Brown and Thomas are still with the group. Ricky Westfield, the group's original keyboardist, left in 1976 to form his own band, and died in 1985. Guitarist Claydes Smith died after a long illness on June 20, 2006, at age 57. Original trumpet player Robert "Spike" Mickens, who had retired in 1986 due to poor health, died at age 59 on November 2, 2010, at a nursing home in Far Rockaway, New York. Longtime members who continue to perform and record with the group include Clifford Adams (trombone), Curtis Williams (keyboards) and trumpeters Larry Gittens and Michael Ray. "Jungle Boogie" was featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's well known cult classic Pulp Fiction. The band released the album "Still Kool" in 2007. "Hollywood Swinging" was sampled by DJ Kool in his song "Let Me Clear My Throat," and by rapper Mase on "Feel So Good". Kool & the Gang's "Summer Madness" from their 1974 album Light of Worlds has been sampled numerous times. Most notably, it was used by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for their 1991 single "Summertime". "Summer Madness" was also featured in the 1976 Picture of the Year, "Rocky". A live version of the track recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London was released in 1976 on the Love & Understanding album (De-Lite DEP 2018). Live at PJ's' track "N.T" has been sampled extensively by artists such as Boogie Down Productions, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, N.W.A and Kris Kross. The song was also sampled by Jermaine Dupri featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg in the song, "We Just Wanna Party with You" from the soundtrack to the film in 1997, Men in Black: The Album starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Kool & the Gang performed at Jerusalem's Gan Sacher (Sacher Park) during the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Student Day/Jerusalem Day all-night concert on May 11–12, 2010. In October 2010, Kool & the Gang signed with indie label Expat Records for the release of their electro-pop single "Miss Lead" with a female lead vocalist.[4] Kool & the Gang performed at Glastonbury, England, on 26 June 2011. 1969 Kool and the Gang — — 1972 Music Is the Message — — Good Times 142 — 1973 Wild and Peaceful 33 — 1974 Light of Worlds 63 — 1975 Spirit of the Boogie 48 — 1976 Love & Understanding 68 — Open Sesame 110 — Behind the Eyes — — 1977 The Force 142 — 1978 Everybody's Dancin' 207 — 1979 Ladies' Night 13 — 1980 Celebrate! 10 — 1981 Something Special 12 10 1982 As One 29 49 1983 In the Heart 29 18 1984 Emergency 13 47 1986 Forever 25 — 1989 Sweat — — 1993 Unite — — 1996 State of Affairs — — 2001 Gangland — — 2004 The Hits: Reloaded — 56 2007 Still Kool — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart [edit] Live albums Year Title U.S. UK[1] 1971 Live at the Sex Machine 122 — Live at PJ's 171 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart [edit] Compilation albums Year Album U.S. UK[1] 1971 The Best of Kool and the Gang 157 — 1974 Kool Jazz 187 — 1975 Kool & the Gang Greatest Hits! 81 — 1978 Spin Their Top Hits 208 — 1983 Twice as Kool (The Hits of Kool & the Gang) — 4 1988 Everything's Kool & the Gang: Greatest Hits & More 109 — The Singles Collection — 28 1990 Kool Love — 50 1993 The Best of Kool & The Gang: 1969-1976 — — 1994 Celebration: The Best of Kool & The Gang (1979–1987) — — 1999 The Very Best of Kool & the Gang — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart [edit] Singles Year Title U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Dance U.S. AC UK[1] Certifications (sales thresholds) [2] Album 1969 "Kool and the Gang" 59 19 — — — Kool and the Gang " The Gangs Back Again" 85 — — — — 1970 "Let the Music Take Your Mind" 78 19 — — — " Funky Man" 87 16 — — — Live at the Sex Machine 1971 "I Want to Take You Higher" 105 35 — — — " Who's Gonna Take the Weight (Part One)" 113 28 — — — 1972 "Love the Life You Live, Part I" 107 31 — — — Music Is the Message 1973 "Funky Stuff" 29 5 — — — Wild and Peaceful 1974 "Jungle Boogie" 4 2 — — — US: Gold "Hollywood Swinging" 6 1 — — — US: Gold "Higher Plane" 37 1 — — — Light of Worlds 1975 "Rhyme Tyme People" 63 3 — — — " Summer Madness" 1 35 36 — — 17 " Spirit of the Boogie" 35 1 — — — Spirit of the Boogie " Caribbean Festival" 55 6 — — — 1976 "Love and Understanding (Come Together)" 77 8 — — — Love & Understanding " Universal Sound" 101 71 — — — 1977 "Open Sesame" 55 — 13 — — Open Sesame " Super Band" 101 — — — — 1978 "Slick Superchick" 102 19 — — — The Force 1979 "Ladies' Night" 8 1 5 — 9 US: Gold Ladies' Night 1980 "Too Hot" 5 3 — 11 23 US: Gold "Hangin' Out" 103 — — — 52 " Celebration" 2 1 1 1 34 7 US: Platinum Celebrate! 1981 "Take It to the Top" 2 — 11 1 — 15 " Jones vs. Jones" 1 39 33 — — 17 " Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" 3 17 1 16 — 29 Something Special 1982 "Steppin' Out" 3 89 12 16 — 12 " Get Down on It" 3 10 4 16 — 3 US: Gold "Big Fun" 21 6 — — 14 As One " Hi De Hi, Hi De Ho" — — — — 29 " Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La, La, La)" 30 7 — — 6 1983 "Street Kids" — 78 — — — " Joanna" 2 1 — 2 2 US: Gold In the Heart 1984 "Tonight" 13 7 — — — " Straight Ahead" 103 — — — 15 " When You Say You Love Somebody (In the Heart)" — — — — 7 " Misled" 10 3 — — 28 Emergency 1985 "Fresh" 9 1 1 5 11 " Cherish" 2 1 — 1 4 US: Gold "Emergency" 18 7 41 — 50 1986 "Victory" 10 2 35 35 30 Forever 1987 "Stone Love" 10 4 41 11 45 " Holiday" 66 9 — — — " Special Way" 72 — — 6 — 1988 "Rags to Riches" — 38 — — — Greatest Hits & More 1989 "Raindrops" — 27 — — — Sweat " Never Give Up" — 74 — — — 2005 "Hollywood Swinging" — — 5 — — Be Cool soundtrack 2010 "Miss Lead"
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