Kool & the Gang

Kool & the Gang is an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group who went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career.

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.

Though none of the three singles from their first 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". However, after the release of those albums the band abandoned deep funk music and switched to pop-funk.

The only album released in the late 1970s was Open Sesame and the title track "Open Sesame" which achieved some success in the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. New lead singer James "J.T." Taylor joined the group with 1979's Ladies' Night. Their number one hit in 1980's "Celebration", from Celebrate!.

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. In 1988, Taylor left the group amicably to pursue a solo career. He returned for the underrated 1996 album "State of Affairs", which didn't make much of an impact commercially but received positive reviews from critics. Taylor departed again in 2001 to resume his solo career.

Of Kool & the Gang's original members, the Bell brothers, Brown and Thomas are still with the group. 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 &amp; The Fresh Prince for their 1991 single "Summertime". "Summer Madness" was also featured in the 1976 Picture of the Year, Rocky.

Music Videos

 * Celebration
 * Cherish
 * Emergency
 * Fresh (featuring Liberty X)
 * Joanna
 * Ladies' Night (featuring Banner & Sean Paul)
 * Stone Love
 * Straight Ahead
 * Strong
 * Tonight
 * Victory