NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� You can call the music of Kool & the Gang funky or R&B, soulful or disco, pop or dance. What you cannot call it is partisan.
When Iowa鈥檚 delegation at this summer鈥檚 announced its vote for the Harris-Walz ticket, they played 鈥淐elebration.鈥� That was the same song picked a few weeks earlier when Donald Trump reached the number of delegates he needed to win the
鈥淭he Democrats and Republicans, they鈥檙e both using 鈥楥elebration,鈥欌�� Robert 鈥淜ool鈥� Bell, bass guitarist and co-founder of Kool & the Gang marveled recently. 鈥淥ur music is for everybody.鈥�
After fueling so many other people's political and non-political parties, it will be time for Kool & the Gang to finally celebrate when they are inducted into the next month in Cleveland.
鈥淚t feels wonderful, man, after all these years,鈥� says Bell, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio. 鈥淲hen we first started, we didn鈥檛 know where we were going, but we loved what we were doing.鈥�
Bell is the only living member of the original lineup, following a cluster of recent deaths, including drummer and songwriter saxophonist, flutist and percussionist and
鈥淭hat is a bittersweet sort of feeling,鈥� said Bell, who noted the original lineup in the early '60s was nicknamed 鈥淭he Magnificent Seven.鈥� "And now there鈥檚 only one left 鈥� and that鈥檚 me."
The opening of the Hall of Fame door for Kool & the Gang coincided with in 2023 that led to invites for key legacy acts like Foreigner, and
On Oct. 19, they鈥檒l join A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band, MC5, Dionne Warwick, Alexis Korner, and Big Mama Thornton
Rock, pop and hip-hop royalty will be on hand to help usher them in, including Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, James Taylor, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Ella Mai and Kenny Chesney.
Kool & the Gang had 12 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including the 1980 chart-topper 鈥淐elebration鈥� as well as 鈥淐herish,鈥� 鈥淕et Down On It,鈥� 鈥淟adies Night鈥� and 鈥淛oanna.鈥� They've been eligible for the hall since 1994.
They won seven American Music Awards and were included on the Grammy-winning soundtrack for 鈥淪aturday Night Fever鈥� and Quentin Tarantino鈥檚 鈥淧ulp Fiction.鈥� Several members 鈥� including Bell 鈥� were asked to sing on the mega-selling 1984 charity single 鈥淒o They Know It鈥檚 Christmas?鈥�
Kool & the Gang never let go of its grip on pool parties, weddings and cookouts. The group鈥檚 鈥淢isled鈥� was featured in Netflix鈥檚 in 2023, and their music was played during this year鈥檚 NFL playoffs and Super Bowl.
The induction coincides this fall with the release of Brown's posthumous album, a 16-track collection that shows off the drummer as a versatile multi-instrumentalist who explored Brazilian rhythms, country, cool jazz, romantic ballads and pure dance 鈥� proof that members of the Gang had lots to offer.
鈥淚 wish George was here and the rest of the original members because they well deserve this recognition,鈥� says his wife, Hahn Brown. 鈥淭hese gentlemen of the band itself needs to be recognized for their body of work and the changes they made in the music industry."
The band began in 1964 with brothers Kool and Ronald 鈥淜halis鈥� Bell, along with high school friends Dennis 鈥淒.T.鈥� Thomas, Brown, Robert 鈥淪pike鈥� Mickens, Ricky West and Charles Smith in Jersey City, New Jersey. They grew from jazz roots in the 1960s to become one of the major groups of the 1970s and 鈥�80s, blending jazz, funk, R&B and pop.
A pivotal moment came when the group hired James 鈥淛T鈥� Taylor as lead singer in 1979, fueling most of their 鈥�80s hits. The first song he recorded was 鈥淟adies鈥� Night,鈥� a tune Bell conceived of while hanging out at Studio 54 and Regine鈥檚 in Manhattan.
鈥淚 came back, I said, 'I got a great idea for a title.' So my brother said, 鈥榃hat?鈥� I said, 鈥楲adies鈥� Night.' He said, 鈥榃ow, they got one of those all over the world.鈥� And that was his first song.鈥�
The group was honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame four years later. During the very last space shuttle mission in 2011, one of the wake-up songs was 鈥淐elebration.鈥�
That party-time juggernaut was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 and added to the Library of Congress鈥� National Recording Registry in 2020.
Kool & the Gang have been sampled by everybody from A Tribe Called Quest, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice Cube, Kid Rock and TLC. They can be heard in DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince鈥檚 鈥淪ummertime,鈥� Jhen茅 Aiko鈥檚 鈥淪ummer 2020,鈥� Madonna鈥檚 鈥淓rotica鈥� and Public Enemy鈥檚 鈥淲elcome to the Terrordome.鈥�
Last year, Kool & the Gang released a new album, 鈥淧eople Just Wanna Have Fun,鈥� with the first single the infectious, happy featuring vocals from Sha Sha Jones.
Joining Bell in the current Kool & the Gang lineup are trumpet player and singer ; guitarist and lead singer ; and saxophonist, keyboardist and music director .
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
