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It's pure, straight-up Kool & the Gang. It's good to put out a wholesome message like ours. There hasn't ever been so much turmoil on this planet—people storming countries, constant mass murders here. There is no better reason to shine our light on people coming together and having fun.
Contents
—George "Funky" Brown on recording People Just Wanna Have Fun [1]
People Just Wanna Have Fun is the twenty-sixth studio album by American funk band Kool & the Gang, released through Astana Music, BFD Records and The Orchard on July 14, 2023. Released to celebrate the band's 60th anniversary, it features the final recordings by Ronald "Khalis" Bell, Dennis "D.T." Thomas and George "Funky" Brown and the group is augmented by several guest vocalists. [2]
Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3 out of 5 stars, with critic Andy Kellman writing that "keeps the energy amiable throughout with a deliberate mix of body movers and romantic ballads" but criticizes the rapping and "wholly unnecessary social media and brand references". [3] At The Arts Desk , Guy Oddy rated this release 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing and praising individual tracks and also noting the "rainbow of colours" that the guest singers bring to the band's sound. [4]
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Kool & the Gang
Additional musicians
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk group formed in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Sir Earl Toon, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. The group changed their name several times. Settling on Kool & the Gang, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang (1969).
Spirit of the Boogie is the sixth studio album by Kool & the Gang, released in 1975. It can be seen as a follow-up to Wild and Peaceful (1973); the instrumental "Jungle Jazz" uses the same basic rhythm track heard in "Jungle Boogie", but lets the players improvise on their instruments. References to earlier works can be noticed. "Spirit of the Boogie" features Donald Boyce, who was rapping on "Jungle Boogie". Some African influence can be felt, and the band even play in a West-Indian style on "Caribbean Festival", another instrumental track, with once more much room for improvisation.
Kool and the Gang is the debut studio album by funk band Kool & the Gang. The album was released in December 1969, and reached No. 43 on the Billboard R&B albums chart.
Wild and Peaceful is the fourth studio album, and sixth album of new material released by the funk band Kool & the Gang, and is their commercial breakthrough album. It was released in 1973 and was hugely successful on the Billboard R&B chart, reaching No. 6 and charting for 36 weeks. It also reached No. 33 on the Pop charts, making it the band's first entry into that chart's Top 40. The album spawned the band's first three Top 10 singles. "Funky Stuff" reached No. 5 R&B/No. 29 Pop. The hugely popular track "Jungle Boogie" soared to No. 2 R&B and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Hollywood Swinging" topped the Billboard Hot Soul Singles in June 1974 while reaching No. 6 Pop. The latter two singles both sold over a million copies and were certified Gold by the RIAA. The album itself was also certified Gold.
Light of Worlds is the fifth studio album, and seventh album of new material by the American R&B group Kool & the Gang. Released in 1974, it was later remastered by Polygram and was a second success for the band, reaching number 16 in the R&B chart and number 63 in the pop chart. It was a landmark in the funk/jazz fusion genre of the 1970s.
Open Sesame is the eighth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1976 on Mercury Records. The album reached No. 9 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 33 on the US Billboard Top Jazz LPs chart.
Love & Understanding is the seventh studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1976. The album had mild success. Three tracks, "Hollywood Swinging", "Summer Madness" and "Universal Sound" were recorded live at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England.
Celebrate! is the twelfth studio album by American band Kool & the Gang. Released on September 29, 1980, the album reached No. 1 on the US R&B chart and #10 on the Billboard 200. The album produced perhaps Kool & the Gang's most recognizable hit song, the #1 chart-topper, "Celebration", which still receives heavy play today over four decades later.
In the Heart is the fifteenth studio album by the funk/R&B band Kool & the Gang, released on November 21, 1983. Four singles were released from the album, with two singles becoming major hits on the US Hot 100. The first single, "Straight Ahead", failed to chart on the Hot 100, but the second single, "Joanna", soared to number two on the charts in the US and UK, and hit number one on the US R&B chart as well. The third single, "Tonight", brought another major hit as it peaked at #13 on the US Hot 100. The fourth single "(When You Say You Love Somebody) In the Heart" did not chart on the Hot 100, but became a moderate hit on the US R&B chart.
Emergency is the sixteenth studio album by the American band Kool & the Gang, released in 1984. It ultimately became the group's biggest selling career album, earning Double Platinum status in America, Platinum in Canada, and Silver in the UK.
Forever is the seventeenth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1986. The album included two major hits on the US Hot 100 Chart: "Victory" and "Stone Love". Three additional singles charted, "Holiday" reached the top ten on the R&B Chart, "Special Way" reached #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. and "Peacemaker" was released in international markets and charted at #20 in New Zealand.
Sweat is the eighteenth studio album by the band Kool & the Gang, released in 1989 following a three-year gap between albums. James "J.T." Taylor, Khalis Bayyan and Robert "Spike" Mickens had departed, and this album showed a refocused band.
State of Affairs is the twentieth studio album by the band Kool & the Gang, released in 1996 following a four-year gap between albums.
Gangland is the twenty-first studio album by the band Kool & the Gang, released in 2001 following a five-year gap between albums. The album was a compilation of rappers backed by Kool and the Gang remaking some of the band's songs.
Ronald Nathan Bell, also known as Khalis Bayyan, was an American composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, saxophonist and co-founding member of Kool & the Gang. The band recorded nine No. 1 R&B singles in the 1970s and 1980s, including its No. 1 pop single "Celebration". The group is honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Not Just a Fad is the second studio album by the American female rap group J.J. Fad. It was released in 1990 via Ruthless Records. The album spawned three singles: "We in the House", "Gold", and "Be Good ta Me". Neither the album nor the singles registered on any major music chart. Although the group never officially broke up, they have not released an album since Not Just a Fad.
Anything Goes! is the second album by the US dance group C+C Music Factory. The album's lead single "Do You Wanna Get Funky"; which featured Martha Wash, Zelma Davis, and Trilogy, reached number 1 on the Dance/Club Play charts, number 40 on the Hot 100, and number 11 on the R&B Singles chart. The follow-up single, "Take a Toke" reached number 23 on the Dance/Club Play and 48 on the R&B Singles chart. "Take a Toke" was included in the soundtrack of Brazilian novela Quatro Por Quatro and was a hit single in the country.
Perfect Union is a 2021 studio album by American disco and funk band Kool & the Gang. The album was the first new music from the group in over a decade and was last to feature founding member Ronald Bell before his death.
"Funky Stuff" is a funk song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1973 album Wild and Peaceful. Released as a single, the song reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Open Sesame" is a song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1976 eponymous studio album. The song, issued as a single in 1976 by De-Lite Records, reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 13 on the US Billboard Disco Action chart.