| Perfect Union | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 20, 2021 | |||
| Genre | Disco, funk | |||
| Length | 36:12 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Omnivore | |||
| Producer | Ronald Bell, with several co-producers on select tracks | |||
| Kool & the Gang chronology | ||||
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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 [1] and was last to feature founding member Ronald Bell before his death. [2]
Editors at AllMusic rated this album 2.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that the band's music suffered from the loss of Ronald Bell, but also writing that "the interplay among the musicians is lively". [3]
"Sexy" peaked at No. 16 on the US Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart in October 2016. [4]
Kool & the Gang
Additional personnel
| Chart | Year | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland (Hitparade) [5] | 2021 | 47 |
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).
Robert Earl "Kool" Bell, also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer & songwriter.
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.
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.
The Force is the ninth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1977 on De-Lite Records. The album peaked at No. 33 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
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.
Something Special is the thirteenth studio album by American band Kool & the Gang, released in 1981. It was the group's third consecutive Platinum-certified album.
As One is the fourteenth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1982. The album did not yield any #1 singles, but the song "Let's Go Dancin'" did make the top ten, peaking at #7 on the U.S. R&B chart and #6 on the UK Singles Chart. "Big Fun" also became an international hit.
In the Heart is the fifteenth studio album by the funk/R&B band Kool & the Gang, released on November 21, 1983. The album became a hit and brought a return to the Billboard charts for the band. The hit love song, "Joanna", soared to number two on the charts in the U.S. and UK, and hit number one on the U.S. R&B chart. "Straight Ahead" was only #103 in the U.S. but a top twenty hit in the UK, while "Tonight" was a top twenty in the U.S.
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.
Gloria Gaynor is the tenth studio album by Gloria Gaynor and her only to be released on Atlantic Records after her contract with Polydor Records expired. The lead single release was a cover of The Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love", followed by the singles "America" and "Tease Me". The album failed to garner much attention in either the U.S. or in Europe. It was re-released on CD by Hot Productions in 1997 with two previously unreleased re-recordings of "I Will Survive", added as track 1 (3:35) and a 5:03 Extended Mix as track 10. The album was reissued on 2014 by BBR Records, and did not include the re-recorded versions of "I Will Survive", although the extended version can be found on countless compilations by Gaynor over the years. Instead were included the single versions of "Stop in the Name of Love", "America" and "Tease Me", as well as the 12" disco version of "Stop in the Name of Love".
Cliff Hanger is an album by Jimmy Cliff, released in 1985 through CBS Records. In 1986, the album won Cliff the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording.
People Just Wanna Have Fun is a 2023 studio album by American funk band Kool & the Gang. Released to celebrate the band's 60th anniversary, it features the final recordings by Ronald "Khalis" Bell and Dennis "D.T." Thomas and the group is augmented by several guest vocalists.
"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.
