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).
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.
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.
Ladies' Night is the eleventh studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1979. The album became their first major success especially after the release of the title track, the U.S. #8 "Ladies' Night," and the U.S. #5 follow-up "Too Hot" which both became Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The album brought a return to the mainstream after a lull in success from 1976-1978. Ladies' Night reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart. Additionally, all the cuts from the album reached number five on the disco chart.
"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.
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.
Dee Clark was an American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the song "Raindrops", which became a million-seller in the United States in 1961.
"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.
This article presents the discography of American band Kool & the Gang.
"Joanna" is a song by Kool & the Gang from their 1983 album In the Heart. It was released as a single in November 1983.
"Misled" is a 1984 song by American R&B group Kool & the Gang taken from their album, Emergency. The song takes influence from rock and pop music. It reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The writing is credited to James Taylor, Ronald Bell, and Kool & the Gang.
"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.
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me."
"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.
"Victory" is a song by Kool & the Gang, released as the lead single off their seventeenth studio album Forever (1986).
Still Kool is a studio album by the band Kool & the Gang, released in 2007 on New Door Records. The album reached No. 31 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. Still Kool was certified platinum in France by the SNEP.
"Rags to Riches" is a song recorded by R&B/Funk band Kool & the Gang for their 1988 compilation album Everything's Kool & the Gang . Released as a single, the song reached No. 38 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 26 on the German Pop Singles chart.
