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Live At The Sex Machine
''Live at the Sex Machine'' is the first live album released by the funk band Kool and the Gang. The album was released in 1971, and reached No. 6 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart. Not only was it a Top 10 album, it stayed on the chart for 33 weeks; an impressive time span compared to most albums of the era. Although the band's huge success would not come until a few albums later, this release was popular with the R&B market. Like most of their early catalog, it was sampled by several artists during hip-hop's "Golden Era" of the 1980s and early 1990s. The track "Funky Man" was sampled in " Smack My Bitch Up" by the Prodigy. Track listing Personnel Kool and the Gang * Robert "Spike" Mickens – trumpet * Claydes Smith – guitar * Ricky Westfield – piano, organ * Ronald Bell – tenor saxophone, music director * George Brown – drums * Dennis Thomas – alto saxophone * Robert "Kool" Bell Robert Earl "Kool" Bell (born October 8, 1950), also known by the name Muham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kool And The Gang
Kool may refer to: People * Kool (surname), surname of Dutch origin * Robert "Kool" Bell (born 1950), American bassist and founder of Kool and the Gang * Roger Kool (1954–2005), Singaporean DJ (Roger Kiew) * Kool DJ Herc (born 1955), Jamaican–American DJ and hip hop pioneer (Clive Campbell) * Kool DJ Red Alert (born 1956), American DJ and hip hop pioneer (Frederick Crute) * DJ Kool (born 1958), American DJ and rapper (John W. Bowman) * Kool Moe Dee (born 1962), American rapper (Mohandas Dewese) * Kool Keith (born 1963), American rapper (Keith M. Thornton) * Kool Bob Love (born 1967), American DJ, breakdancer and streetball player (Bobbito Garcia) * Kool Shen (born 1966), French rapper, actor and producer (Bruno Lopes) * Kool G. Rap (born 1968), American rapper (Nathaniel T. Wilson) * Kool Kim (born 1971), American rapper (Kim Sharpton) * Kool Savas (born 1975), German rapper (Savaş Yurderi) * Kool Kojak (born 1970s), American musician (Allan P. Grigg) * Kool A.D. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thom Bell
Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2025, Bell was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence Award category. Background Bell was born on January 26, 1943 in Kingston, Jamaica, to Anna and Leroy Bell, and moved to Philadelphia with his parents when he was four, according to an interview Bell had with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. Both of Bell's parents were from Jamaica. Thomas Bedward Burke, Bell's maternal grandfather, was born in Kingston.His father was a botanist, and his mother a secretary. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kool & The Gang Albums
Kool may refer to: People * Kool (surname), surname of Dutch origin * Robert "Kool" Bell (born 1950), American bassist and founder of Kool and the Gang * Roger Kool (1954–2005), Singaporean DJ (Roger Kiew) * Kool DJ Herc (born 1955), Jamaican–American DJ and hip hop pioneer (Clive Campbell) * Kool DJ Red Alert (born 1956), American DJ and hip hop pioneer (Frederick Crute) * DJ Kool (born 1958), American DJ and rapper (John W. Bowman) * Kool Moe Dee (born 1962), American rapper (Mohandas Dewese) * Kool Keith (born 1963), American rapper (Keith M. Thornton) * Kool Bob Love (born 1967), American DJ, breakdancer and streetball player (Bobbito Garcia) * Kool Shen (born 1966), French rapper, actor and producer (Bruno Lopes) * Kool G. Rap (born 1968), American rapper (Nathaniel T. Wilson) * Kool Kim (born 1971), American rapper (Kim Sharpton) * Kool Savas (born 1975), German rapper (Savaş Yurderi) * Kool Kojak (born 1970s), American musician (Allan P. Grigg) * Kool A.D. (born 1983) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert "Kool" Bell
Robert Earl "Kool" Bell (born October 8, 1950), also known by the name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is the last surviving founding member of the American R&B, soul, funk and disco band Kool & the Gang. Biography Early life Bell was born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Aminah Bayyan (1932–2014) and Robert "Bobby" Bell (1929–1985). Bell grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. Growing up, Bell was nicknamed "Kool", due to being "laid back": Kool & The Gang Along with his brother, Ronald Bell, he began playing jazz, and in 1964 they formed a group named The Jazziacs. They began playing at clubs in New York City under a series of different band names before settling on the name Kool & the Gang in 1968. Their debut album, ''Kool and the Gang'', was released the following year. The band's first major hit came in 1973, with " Jungle Boogie", which charted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Their first number one hit single was " Spirit o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas
Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas (February 9, 1951 – August 7, 2021) was an American alto saxophone player, flautist, and percussionist, who was a founding member of R&B/soul/funk Kool & the Gang, and one of the few members to remain with the band for over 50 years, from its foundation in 1964 into the 2020s. Biography Early life Born in Orlando, Florida, like most of his founding bandmates, Thomas attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1964, Thomas—then only thirteen years old—co-founded Kool & the Gang (initially called "The Jazziacs") with brothers Ronald Bell and Robert "Kool" Bell, and other friends. Kool & the Gang Thomas "was known as the quintessential cool cat in the group" due to his fashion sense and "laid-back demeanor". In addition to his musicianship, Thomas was "master of ceremonies at the band's shows" and "the group's wardrobe stylist", as well as being responsible for the group's revenues, which carried "in a paper bag in the bell o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Bell (musician)
Ronald Nathan Bell (November 1, 1951 – September 9, 2020), 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 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Early life Bell was born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Aminah Bayyan (1932–2014) and Robert "Bobby" Bell (1929–1985). His father was a professional boxer and Golden Gloves amateur boxing winner. Training in Elwood, New York, he hung out with jazz players and became friends with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, who lived in the same apartment building as the elder Bell. Ronald Bell and his brother, Robert "Kool" Bell, were introduced to jazz at around five or six. The family moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1960. In 1964, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claydes Charles Smith
Claydes "Charles" Smith (born Claydes Eugene Smith; September 6, 1948 – June 20, 2006) was an American musician best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang. Biography Early life Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was introduced to jazz guitar by his father in the early 1960s. Kool & the Gang In the late 1960s, he joined with Ronald Bell (later Khalis Bayyan), Robert "Kool" Bell, George Brown, Dennis Thomas and Robert "Spike" Mickens to become Kool & the Gang. His cool jazz stylings and octave runs, reminiscent of Wes Montgomery but uniquely his own, enriched the music of the group. His playing on the hit " Summer Madness" is a fine example of his work. Kool & the Gang blended jazz, funk, R&B, and pop. The group remained popular from the 1960s through the 1980s. Smith stopped touring in January 2006 due to illness. In 2024, Smith was posthumously selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Kool & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funky Man (Kool & The Gang Song)
"Funky Man" is a R&B/funk song recorded by the band Kool & the Gang from, ''Live at the Sex Machine'', their 1970 live album. Released as a single, the song peaked at No. 16 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart. Compendium Funky Man was produced by Gene Redd who also wrote the song with Kool & the Gang. The single version's B-side was a tune entitled "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8". Charts Legacy Funky Man was sampled by Public Enemy on Night of the Living Baseheads from the group's 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The song was sampled by EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ... on Underground from their 1990 album Business as Usual. References {{Kool & the Gang 1970 songs 1971 singles Kool & the Gang songs De-Lite Records singl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvester Stewart
Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of psychedelic soul and funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia, and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s. AllMusic stated that "James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it," and credited him with "creating a series of euphoric yet politically charged records that proved a massive influence on artists of all musical and cultural backgrounds". ''Crawdaddy!'' has credited him as the founder of the "progressive soul" movement. Born in Denton, Texas, and raised in the Bay Area city of Vallejo in Northern California, Stone mastered several instruments at an early age and performed gospel music as a child with his siblings (and future bandmates) Freddie and Rose. In the mid-1960s, he worked as both a record pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Want To Take You Higher
"I Want to Take You Higher" is a song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their top 30 hit "Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the ''Stand!'' album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; instead, it is simply dedicated to music and the feeling one gets from music. Like nearly all of Sly & the Family Stone's songs, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart was credited as the sole songwriter. Composition "I Want to Take You Higher" opens with a bluesy guitar riff played by Freddie Stone. The song, one of the most upbeat recordings in the Family Stone canon, is a remake of sorts of "Higher", a song from the band's 1968 '' Dance to the Music'' LP. "Higher" itself has its origins in "Advice", a song Sly Stone co-wrote and arranged for Billy Preston's album ''The Wildest Organ in Town'' in 1966. Performances "Higher" made the setlist for the band's performance at Woodstock alongside " Dance to the Music" and "Music Lover"; Sly Stone used the so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of America's most successful and honored songwriter/composers. Webb has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Worst That Could Happen", " Galveston", and " All I Know". He had successful collaborations with Glen Campbell, Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, the Supremes, Art Garfunkel, Richard Harris, and Carly Simon. Webb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990. He received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award in 2003, the ASCAP "Voice of Music" Award in 2006 and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wichita Lineman
"Wichita Lineman" is a 1968 song written by Jimmy Webb for American country music artist Glen Campbell, who recorded it backed by members of the Wrecking Crew. Widely covered by other artists, it has been called "the first existential country song". Background and content Webb wrote "Wichita Lineman" in response to Campbell's urgent phone request for a "place"-based or "geographical" song to follow up " By the Time I Get to Phoenix". His lyrical inspiration came while driving through the high plains of the Oklahoma panhandle past a long line of telephone poles, on one of which perched a lineman speaking into his handset. Webb "put himself atop that pole" with the phone in his hand as he imagined the lineman talking to his girlfriend. Despite its real-life roots lying elsewhere, Webb set his song in Wichita, Kansas. Within hours of Campbell's plea from the recording studio, Webb delivered a demo that he regarded and labeled as an unfinished version of the song, warning p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
