Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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For nearly six decades, Kool & the Gang has been the ultimate party band.
Taylor joined the group.
People are happy when they listen to the music weve made, Brown said.
Weve become the soundtrack of millions of peoples lives.
Later, he added, I want us to be remembered as songwriters that brought simplicity.
That we were true musicians, true artists, true stage performers.
That when we hit the stage, you got a hundred percent.
That Kool & the Gang is great no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
It can be a mantra for people: Let me get down on it.
Let me get down on it.
Let me get down on it.
Plus the groove its a funky, funky groove.
Robert Kool Bell:People love Get Down On It and Ladies Night, especially the ladies.
My wife and I were hanging out in New York City at Regines and Studio 54.
We noticed they had ladies nights.
I went back to the guys, J.T.
My brother says, Wow, they have one of those all over the world!
The lateFrankie Crockerbroke that record in New York, but it became huge around the world.
The tag of that song was, This is your night tonight / Come on, lets all celebrate.
My brother said, Thats another good title!
He said, I want to call that Celebration.
Up in the International Space Station, the astronauts get up and theyre floating to Celebration.
It has played at the Super Bowl, the World Series, it goes on and on and on.
But it was when we played the Children of Africa concert for the late Nelson Mandela.
Brown:Going to India and hearing Celebration is a little different.
I can even imagine some of the dictators in the world playing that around their castles.
[Laughs] To have a piece of music that bringseveryonetogether, that within itself is historic.
That was his thing.
A lot of bands would cover our music and they would always ask about Open Sesame.
They would say, Where did that come from?
Thats a great one!
Ronald was always telling me, We got to compete with Earth, Wind & Fire.
Lets show them something!
[Laughs] It wasnt really a competition thing.
We appreciated what they did; Maurice White, Philip Bailey, they were great writers.
We were always trying to up our game, to outdo the others.
In the 70s, you had the Ohio Players, the Commodores.
Then came P-Funk, George Clinton and ParliamentsMothership Connection.
That was the funkiest band of all.
They landed a spaceship in a stadium!
It just speaks of summer.
You broadened the spectrum of the song.
You took it to another level that we would have never thought of.
Its a little alteration to make it for today.
I said, What are you talking about, man?
He said, Im gonna sample one of your songs.
He took Hollywood Swinging and made Feel So Good with Mase.
That was a pretty big record, but theres been quite a few.
Tupac took a piece of Winter Sadness for one of his rap records.
I had never heard it until this guy played it for me.
Then we were on sample patrol!
[Laughs] There have been little samples from Madonna and Janet Jackson.
Depending on the producer, they grab a little bit of this, grab a little of that.
They were honoring us, you know?
Kool & The Gang Record Youd Recommend to New Listeners
Bell:I would sayWild and Peaceful.
He said, There is this big record out called Soul Makossa, by Manu Dibango.
When we finished, we had created Funky Stuff, Hollywood Swinging, and Jungle Boogie.
No more problems with the record label.
The Muppets had recorded Jungle Boogie, so they told their kids, Thats our next-door neighbor.
Hes the Jungle Boogie man!
They were only about 5 or 6 years old at the time.
Now theyre in their teens, and theyre Kool & the Gang fans.
The record goes along with the movie because Jungle Boogie was so different.
You hear it and its like,What is this?It fits perfectly.
I applaud Tarantino for that.
He must be a fan because it works.
Craziness on top of craziness makes good.
Favorite Memory From Rehearsing at Princes Paisley Park
Bell:It was the Emergency tour in 1985.
We needed a full soundstage to rehearse our choreography.
Prince was finishing building Paisley Park.
He said, Well, Ill let you guys use my stage for about a week.
Prince came up and saw the band putting it all together.
He told us that one of the first songs he learned how to play was Funky Stuff.
Maybe he was repaying us by letting us rehearse there.
We saw his talent early because he opened for us a couple of times.
We thought,Theres something with this guy.
Hes gonna be huge!
Most Emotional Song
Bell:I would say Cherish.
Our family was there; it was a vacation, but we were also makingEmergency.
and my brother came up with the lyrics for the song Cherish because thats what we were doing.
It was very emotional.
I guess thats why that song is played at so many weddings.
The two top Kool & the Gang songs at weddings are Celebration and Cherish.
Brown:Its not the saddest; your heartstrings dont pop when you hear Too Hot.
When youre being reflective, you may say, It couldve worked.
I messed it up.
Were really good friends today.
We can talk to each other about anything.
Im there for you.
This is that bang out of love song.
This was for the celebration of David coming back.
They said to him, Man, what have you been smoking over there?
But David knew what he was doing.
He told me that 60 percent of his fans were ladies.
I didnt know that.
We used to play Funky Stuff and Jungle Boogie.
I didnt know that either.
His pitch was, Hey, Kool, let us go out and have a party!
Thats what plays in my mind and all of our fans minds, too.
I mean, did we steal somebodys lollipop?
What did we do?
But what would it mean?
You know what he said?
He said, I vote for them all the time.
So what is it?
He said, Its the good old boys.
They do what they want to do.
Were trying to find the good old boys.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
