Harry Wayne Casey (born January 31, 1951), better known by his stage name KC, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his band,

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", " I'm Your Boogie Man", ...

, as a producer of several hits for other artists, and as a pioneer of the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

genre of the 1970s.

Career

Harry Wayne Casey formed

in 1973. He was introduced to Richard Finch, who was doing engineering work on records for

TK Records TK Records was an American independent record label founded by record distributor Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo in 1972. and based in Hialeah, Florida. The record label went bankrupt in 1981. "TK" was inspired by the initials of sound engineer ...

. Thus began the Casey-Finch musical collaboration. The initial members were just Casey and Finch. They later added guitarist Jerome Smith (1953–2000) and drummer Robert Johnson, both TK studio musicians. The first few songs, "Blow Your Whistle" (September 1973) and "Sound Your Funky Horn" (February 1974), were released as singles, and did well enough on the U.S. R&B chart and overseas that TK wanted a follow-up single and album. However, while working on demos for KC & the Sunshine Band the song, "

Rock Your Baby "Rock Your Baby" is the debut single by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. A massive international ...

" (

George McCrae George Warren McCrae Jr. (born October 19, 1944) is an American soul and disco singer who is most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby". Biography and career McCrae was the second of nine children, born in West Palm Beach, Florida. He f ...

) was created. The band's "Queen of Clubs" was a hit in the UK, peaking at No. 7, and they went on tour there in 1975. KC and the Sunshine Band became prominent in the United States in 1975 with " Get Down Tonight" and "

That's the Way (I Like It) "That's the Way (I Like It)" is a song by American disco and funk band KC and the Sunshine Band from their self-titled second studio album (1975). The single became the band's second No. 1 hit in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it is one of th ...

". Other Casey-Finch favorites include "

(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" is a song recorded and released in 1976 by KC and the Sunshine Band for the album ''Part 3''. The song became their third number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as their third number-one on ...

", " I'm Your Boogie Man", " Keep It Comin' Love" and " Please Don't Go". " Boogie Shoes" appeared on the soundtrack album for ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends h ...

''. He also joined Teri DeSario on her hit "

Yes, I'm Ready "Yes, I'm Ready" is a song by Barbara Mason from her album '' Yes, I'm Ready'' (1965). It has been covered by numerous artists, and was a hit single for Teri DeSario and K.C. when they recorded a duet version in 1980. Barbara Mason Mason, a so ...

" in 1979. Casey also part-wrote "I Ain't Lyin'" (a UK hit for George McCrae in late 1975). As a result of the soaring popularity of new wave and

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

in the early 1980s, Casey dissolved the Sunshine Band and recorded several pop-oriented solo albums. In January 1981, he survived a serious car accident — another car hit his car head-on. He was left partially paralyzed for six months, and had to re-learn how to walk, dance, and play the piano, but by the end of the year he was back in the recording studio. " Give It Up", was released as a solo hit, shot to Number One in the UK (but his U.S. label, Epic, refused to release it). However, it became a Top 20 hit in the United States (1984) when issued on the independent Meca label. In the mid-1990s, due to the revived interest in the music and fashions of the 1970s, Casey re-formed the Sunshine Band.

Personal life

Casey was born on January 31, 1951, at the Naval Hospital in

Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...

. He grew up in Hialeah and graduated from Hialeah High School. In the 1990s and 2000s he split his time between

Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. US Census, 31,628 people live in Miami Lakes. History The development was constructed by Sengra (now the ...

and

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...

.Calorielab.com
/ref> He now lives in

Miami Lakes Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. US Census, 31,628 people live in Miami Lakes. History The development was constructed by Sengra (now the ...

. Casey appeared in season 25 of '' Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives''.

Discography

*''

Do It Good ''Do It Good'' is the debut album by the American funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. Produced by Richard Finch, it was released in 1974 on the TK label. History ''Do It Good'' had little mainstream impact in the United States, desp ...

'' (1974) *''

'' (1975) *'' The Sound of Sunshine'' (1975) *'' Part 3'' (1976) *''

Who Do Ya Love ''Who Do Ya (Love)'' is the fifth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in August 1978 on the TK label. History ''Who Do Ya (Love)'' wa ...

'' (1978) *'' Do You Wanna Go Party'' (1979) *'' Space Cadet Solo Flight'' (1981) *'' The Painter'' (1981) *''

All in a Night's Work ''All in a Night's Work'' is the ninth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in August 1982 on the Epic label. History ''All in a Night' ...

'' (1982) *'' KC Ten'' (1983) *'' Oh Yeah!'' (1993) *'' I'll Be There for You'' (2001) *''Yummy'' (2007)

Selected compilations

*''Greatest Hits, Vol. 1'' (1980) (compilation) *'' The Best of KC and the Sunshine Band'' (1990) (compilation) *''Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' (1990) (compilation) *''KC and the Sunshine Band...and More'' (1994) *''Part 3... and More'' (1995) *'' Get Down Live!'' (1995) (live) *''Shake, Shake, Shake and Other Hits'' (1997) *''I'm Your Boogie Man and Other Hits'' (1997) *''Yummy in My Tummy'' (1998) (live)

References

External links

Official websiteHarry Casey Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Harry Wayne 1951 births American disco singers American funk singers American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Record producers from Florida American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Epic Records artists Grammy Award winners KC and the Sunshine Band members Living people Miami Dade College alumni People from Opa-locka, Florida Singer-songwriters from Florida Hialeah Senior High School alumni