Kool & The Gang es una de las bandas más icónicas de la música funk, soul y R&B. La historia de esta legendaria agrupación comenzó en 1964 en Jersey City, Nueva Jersey, cuando los hermanos Robert "Kool" Bell y Ronald Bell, junto a sus amigos, decidieron formar un grupo musical. Inicialmente, se hacían llamar "The Jazziacs" y se centraban en el jazz. Sin embargo, pronto actualizaron su nombre a "Kool & The Flames" y finalmente a "Kool & The Gang" para evitar confusiones con el famoso grupo de James Brown, The Famous Flames.
Durante sus primeros años, Kool & The Gang navegó por varios géneros, incluyendo el funk y el jazz. Su álbum debut homónimo, lanzado en 1969, no fue un gran éxito comercial, pero estableció las bases de su estilo único. Durante los primeros años de la década de los 70, su popularidad empezó a aumentar, gracias a su enérgico y distintivo sonido. Canciones como "Jungle Boogie" y "Hollywood Swinging" se convirtieron en grandes éxitos en 1973, consolidando a la banda como un talento emergente en la escena musical.
La siguiente década fue clave para Kool & The Gang. En 1979, con la llegada de James "J.T." Taylor como vocalista principal, la banda comenzó a experimentar un mayor éxito comercial. El álbum "Ladies' Night" (1979) se convirtió en un hito, seguido de trabajos exitosos como "Celebrate!" (1980). La canción "Celebration" de este último
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[Guru]
The music started in the hearts and drums, from another land
Played for everyone, by sons, of the motherland
Sendin out a message of peace, to everybody and
came across the oceans in chains and shame
Easing the pain, and it was without name
Until some men in New Orleans on Rampart Street
Put out the sounds, and then they gave it a beat
I'm talkin bout Jelly Roll, King, and Satch
I'm talkin bout the music that had no match
Yes the music, and it was born down there
We're gonna use it, so make the horn sound clear
It's jazz music... jazz music
Yo, the music that Pops, and other cats made
it stayed, cause people love when they played
To the North, it took a riverboat shuffle
To the big cities, with lots of hustle and bustle
To Chicago, and to the Apple too
This was a scene, that our forefathers knew
Go get your crew, I know they'll get into
the jazz music... jazz music
The music called jazz had the razzamatazz
It had the flavor, and a lot of pizazz
The big band beat was very neat and unique
The swing was king, it made you tap your feet
There was Benny and Duke and of course the Count Basie
The melody was smooth and yes, very taste
There was Hap, The Prez, and Lady Day and
Dizzy Bird and Miles, they were all playin
They brought it to the people of the foreign lands
Back across the oceans and the desert sands
Where it echoes in the distant sounds of drums
And it rises with the sun on days begun
This is the music, that we give tribute to
They gave it to us, that's why we give it to you
The jazz music... the jazz music
The jazz music... UH.. uh.. uh..