I discovered Kool & The Gang when I was in middle school .
Don ’ t miss Kool & The Gang at Tanglewood on Sunday , June 23 .
NANCY DAGATA
SO KOOL
KOOL & THE GANG BRING THEIR MUSIC TO TANGLEWOOD , JOINED BY R & B TRIO EN VOGUE
B y D r . J o s h u a S h e r m a n
I discovered Kool & The Gang when I was in middle school .
“ Ladies ’ Night ” was the first track on the audio cassette tape , and I was hooked . It wasn ’ t new music , but it was new to me . This week ( over 30 years later ), I got the chance to chat directly with Kool , who doesn ’ t disappoint . He is , indeed , cool .
Although Kool is the last living member of the original group , Kool and his current Gang will be playing Tanglewood on June 23 . It ’ s an opportunity for longtime fans to “ celebrate good times ” and for a new generation to “ get down on it .”
During our conversation , Kool and I discussed his recent European tour , his Las Vegas residency ( at Westgate ), the group ’ s newest album ( People Just Wanna Have Fun ) and Kool ’ s branded champagne ( lekoolchampagne . com ).
Perhaps most exciting to me was when he shared the genesis of two of the band ’ s greatest hits , “ Ladies ’ Night ” and “ Celebration ." Here ’ s the story , in his own words :
We started back in 1964 as The Jazziacs . And then we changed the name to “ The Soul Town Band .” And then we changed it to “ Kool & The Flames ,” but we had to change that , because of James Brown and the Famous Flames . We didn ’ t want to have any problems with “ The Godfather .” And then — in 1969 — we changed the name to “ Kool & The Gang .”
The first record came out July 3rd , 1969 . We went through the ’ 70s with various hits , and then — like the song title ,
“ Open Sesame ”— we ’ re in Saturday Night Fever . You know , the movie with John Travolta .
Right after that , we were on tour with The Jackson 5 . And the promoter was a guy by the name of Dick Griffey , who started Solar records ( creator of Shalamar ). Dick came to us and said , “ Listen , you guys are doing okay on the tour , but I think you need a lead singer .” And we said , “ Oh , yeah ?” And he said , “ Yeah .” So , we thought about it . At that time , you had Lionel Richie as lead singer for The Commodores , and you had Maurice White and Philip Bailey , the lead singers for Earth , Wind & Fire . And that ' s when we got Mr . James “ J . T .” Taylor .
So — my wife and I were hanging out at Studio 54 and another big disco called “ Régine ’ s .”
Every weekend , they had a “ Ladies ’
Night .” I say , “ Ooooooh !” And I went back to my guys , and I said , “ I ’ ve got an idea for a new single for our new lead singer .” And my brother said , “ What is it ?” I said , “ Ladies ’ Night .” And my brother goes , “ Man , there ’ s one of those all over the world .” And I say , “ Yeeeeeaaah .” ( Laughs ) George Brown is the one who wrote the core of the song . And then my brother and J . T ., we all got together , and we came up with the rest . We didn ’ t know it was gonna be such a big record .
Then — we ’ re at the American Music Awards . And we won two awards that evening for “ Ladies ’ Night .”
The tag to “ Ladies ’ Night ” has a part , “ Come on , let ' s all celebrate .”
So , my brother says to me , “ Ooooooh !
There ' s another song .” We said , “ What ?” And he said , “ Celebrate !” So , he came up with the music for most of the song , “ Celebration .” And it ’ s all ’ cause we were celebrating . And the rest is history . n
Don ’ t miss Kool & The Gang at Tanglewood on Sunday , June 23 .