Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky West. 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. After settling on their name following several changes, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang (1969).
Kay Toinette Oslin was an American country music singer-songwriter. She had several years of major commercial success in the late 1980s after signing a record deal at age 45. Oslin had four number one hits and placed additional singles on the Billboard country chart during that timespan; in addition, she won three Grammy Awards and is an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies of the 1930s, because of the similarity of McFarlane's surname with that of George McFarland (Spanky). The group was known for its vocal harmonies and had major hits in the US and Canada in 1967–1968 with "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," "Lazy Day," "Sunday Mornin'," and "Like to Get to Know You."
James "J.T." Warren Taylor is an American singer and actor who achieved worldwide fame as the lead singer of Kool & the Gang between 1979 and 1988.
"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their Something Special album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Real Men... Wear Black is a studio album by the funk group Cameo released in 1990 on Atlanta Artists/Mercury Records. The album reached No. 18 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart.
"Summertime" is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, released in May 1991 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.
"It Takes Two" is a song by New York hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top-40 single and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since its release in 1988, the song has been covered and sampled by several recording artists.
"Don't Touch Me" is a song written by Hank Cochran. It was originally written for and recorded by American country artist Jeannie Seely. The song was released as a single on Monument Records in March 1966 and became a major Billboard country hit. "Don't Touch Me" became Seely's signature song and her biggest hit as a solo artist. It would later appear on her debut studio album and be re-recorded by Seely in later years.
"Hollywood Swinging" is a 1974 song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang from their album Wild and Peaceful. It was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George M. Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis R. Thomas and Rick A. Westfield.
"Higher Plane" is the name of a hit song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang and written by Robert Earl Bell, Ronald Nathan Bell, George Melvin Brown, Robert Spike Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis Thomas and Rick Westfield. From the album Light of Worlds, the single spent one week at number one on the R&B singles chart in October, 1974. It also peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song was included on the 1975 Kool & the Gang Greatest Hits! record.
"Cherish" is a song by American R&B band Kool & the Gang, released in May 1985. It was the third single released from the band's sixteenth studio album, Emergency. It was certified Gold by the RIAA and held the number 1 position on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for six weeks running. It would ultimately rank as the biggest Adult Contemporary chart hit of the 1980s.
Touch the World is the fourteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1987 on Columbia Records. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and No. 33 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. Touch the World was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
"System of Survival" is a song by the band Earth, Wind & Fire issued as a single in October 1987 on Columbia Records. The single reached number one on both the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. "System of Survival" also reached No. 9 on the New Zealand Pop Singles chart, No. 14 on the Dutch Pop Singles chart and No. 25 on the Belgian Pop Singles chart.
"Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" or "Take My Heart" is a 1981 single by Kool & the Gang from their album, Something Special.
"Fresh" is a song by the American group Kool & the Gang. Released as a single in 1984 from the album Emergency, the song peaked at #9 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and #11 on the UK chart. It also reached number one on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart.
"Rose Garden" is a song written in 1967 by American singer-songwriter Joe South. It was first recorded by Billy Joe Royal on his 1967 studio album Billy Joe Royal Featuring "Hush". Versions by South himself and Dobie Gray appeared shortly after the original. Gray's version became a minor hit in North America in 1969.
"Too Hot" is a song recorded by the American band Kool & the Gang for their 1979 album Ladies' Night. It was written by George Brown and Kool & the Gang, and produced by Eumir Deodato and Kool & the Gang. The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"I Want It Now" is a song recorded by the band Cameo for their 1990 album Real Men... Wear Black. It was released as a single by Atlanta Artists/Mercury Records and reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
