Kashmere Stage Band (KSB) was an elite performing unit of the student band at Kashmere High School from the late 1960s until 1978.

History

Kashmere High School is located in a predominantly black neighborhood known as

Kashmere Gardens Kashmere Gardens is a historically African-American neighborhood in the northern 610 Loop area in Houston, Texas, United States. A group of single-family houses, many of which have large lots, Kashmere Gardens is between an industrial area and a ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Music teacher Conrad O. Johnson attended an

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

concert in 1967 and was inspired to translate the style of the concert into a program he could sustain at the high school in order to create opportunities for his student musicians, and thus the Kashmere Stage Band was born. During its time, KSB won national championships in high school band competitions and gained a reputation as being unbeatable. Johnson served as band director, arranger, and principal composer for the band. KSB recorded eight albums during its life. The teenagers in the Kashmere Stage Band produced a sound equal to that of the contemporary

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

bands

The J.B.'s The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records, the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Mace ...

and the

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

. Although lost for decades, since 2003 the KSB recordings have been released, some for the first time, on both vinyl record and CD and have become prized by

hip-hop artist Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

s and DJs for their inimitable sound. A notable sampling occurs on the

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album '' So... How's Your Girl?'';

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’s track “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)” samples 'Kashmere' from the album ''Plays Originals''.

Stones Throw Records Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. ''LA Weekly'' ...

imprint label

Now-Again Records Now-Again Records is a Los Angeles–based music imprint that specializes in reissues and compilations of funk, soul, and psychedelic rock from the 1960s to the 1980s. Founded in 2002 by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt as a subsidiary of Stones Throw Recor ...

released a compilation of KSB material in 2006, '' Texas Thunder Soul 1968–1974''. In February 2008, thirty original members of the Kashmere Stage Band, all in their mid-50s, reunited for the first time in over three decades to pay tribute to their legendary leader, Conrad "Prof" Johnson, who was 92 at the time. The story of Prof, the exceptional music program he built, and the historic reunion of his former students was captured in a feature-length documentary film, '' Thunder Soul'', narrated by

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

, released in theaters on September 23, 2011.

Discography

*''Our Thing'' (1969) *''Bumper to Bumper Soul'' (1970) *''Thunder Soul'' (1971) *''Zero Point'' (1972) *''Out of Gas "But Still Burning"'' (1973) *''Kashmere "73" Live In Concert'' (1973) *''Expo. '75 - Concert Tour Japan / Okinawa'' (1975) *''Plays Originals'' (1976) Compilations * ''Space City'' (Three Tee Records, 1980) (

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

with Bubbha Thomas) * ''Texas Thunder Soul, 1968–1974'' ( Now-Again, 2006) * ''Texas Thunder Soul, 1968–1974: Expanded Deluxe Edition'' (Now-Again, 2011)

Popular culture

Kashmere Stage Band's song "Kashmere" was featured on the ''

Baby Driver ''Baby Driver'' is a 2017 action crime film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Kevin Spacey, Eiza González, Jon Ber ...

'' film's soundtrack, released under Columbia Records on June 23, 2017.

References

External links

David Brown of Austin's KUT interviews Conrad JohnsonConrad O. Johnson Hall of Fame profileDocumentary on Kashmere Stage BandVynyl.com re-issue of "Zero Point"The Conrad O. Johnson Music & Fine Arts FoundationNPR's ''All Things Considered'' story about the bandTexas State Historical Association page on Kashmere Stage Band
{{Authority control American funk musical groups American soul musical groups School bands Now-Again Records artists