In the world of music there are larger-than-life characters and then there’s Harry Wayne Casey. Who is he exactly you might ask? Well, he’s energetic, flamboyant, charismatic with great vocals, but most of all … he enjoys being behind the mic as the lead singer of KC and the Sunshine Band.
For many of his fans, we loved hearing the news that KC is coming back to Orange County for the band’s Doin’ It World Tour.
It’s true the band blew up in the ’70s, but this band transcends genres and any adaptation thereof. KC and the Sunshine band is just plain fun to see live.
With a wicked sense of humor coupled with a wink and smile, Harry Casey will bring an all-star cast of great musicians and dancers to Pacific Amphitheatre July 31st as part of their North American leg of the Doin’ It tour.
What is most incredible about this show is front-man Casey. At 65 he has dance moves that impress artists half his age. The band did disband for a while back in the day, but they reemerged in 1991 and they have not looked back since.
For any band in any genre and any era the best measurement of their influence remains ticket sales for concerts. And this band still sells out arenas from coast-to-coast and around the world, that speaks for itself.
For their fans, there are just so many hits that propel them back to favorite moments in time that can only be best defined by songs like, “Boogie Shoes,” “Please Don’t Go,” and “Keep it Comin’ Love.”
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Although their hit parade is deep and captured in countless TV and film projects, their music has always been the draw for this band. KC and the Sunshine Band has come a long way from their days in Hialeah Florida in the early ’70s.
Casey specifically has developed as a master showman. You could easily argue he has lived a charmed life, after all he started off as a record store employee. His life almost sounds like a Tarantino back story.
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Casey is a kid from Florida who went from putting out 45s and 8 tracks to being a regular on Billboard with hits like, “Get Down On It,” “(Shake Shake Shake), Shake Your Booty,” “Please Don’t Go,” “Get Down Tonight,” and “That’s The Way I Like It.”
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. Well, for KC and the Sunshine band the elite of the music industry have covered their music. Bands and artists alike have covered KC; honoring the band have been Biz Markie, Spin Doctors, The Black Neons and Shriekback. KWS hit it big with “Please Don’t Go,” and “Rob Zombie” paid homage to the band with his cover of “I’m Your Boogie Man.”
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The truth is that there are many bands and artists that do not fit the frame of who you would think belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s the influence their music has had on society that got some of these rock adjacent acts in. For that reason, countless fans around the world cross their fingers hoping that someday they will see this band inducted.
Until then, if you want to be thoroughly entertained, go out and see KC and the Sunshine Band. They are living legends that still put out an amazing show. Catch them this summer at Pacific Amphitheatre. You will have the time of your life; they are that good!
