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There’s a party goin’ on with Kool & the Gang at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) on Sunday, February 5, 7:00 PM. Celebrate good times and groovin’ tunes with the Grammy winner and its legendary blend of Jazz, R&B, Funk, and Pop, which earned the band seven American Music Awards, a score of Top 10 hits, and icon status in American music history. Tickets start at $60.
In 1964, Khalis Bayyan (originally Ronald Bell) and his brother, Robert “Kool” Bell, teamed up with friends, including Dennis “DT” Thomas and George “Funky” Brown, to form The Jazziacs, which later was renamed KOOL & THE GANG. While the group had some Top 40 R&B successes, it was the 1973 album Wild and Peaceful that earned Gold record status and propelled Kool & the Gang onto the music charts with its first No. One R&B hit Hollywood Swinging, the Top 10 Pop single Funky Stuff, and the nightclub favorite Jungle Boogie.
The danceable title track from the Ladies’ Night album rocked the music charts and paved the way for the band’s signature song: Celebration, an anthem with such an infectious rhythm that it became the theme song of the 1980 World Series, the 1981 Super Bowl, and the 1981 NBA Championship. The song rocked the Billboard R&B charts at No. One for six consecutive weeks and dominated the top spot on Billboard’s Pop chart.
With a current lineup that includes four of the original members (Bayyan, Bell, Thomas, and Brown), Kool & the Gang is one of the longest-performing R&B groups in American music history, boasting a career that spans more than three decades and spawned 31 Gold and Platinum albums. The band’s Top 10 singles include Higher Plane and The Spirit of the Boogie.
The hits continued in the ’80s as Kool & the Gang dominated radio airwaves with Get Down On It, Take My Heart, Let’s Go Dancing, Joanna, and Tonight. The multi-Platinum album Emergency produced the Top 10 singles Cherish and Fresh.
In the 1990s, a new generation of musicians and singers drew inspiration from Kool & the Gang’s repertoire. Jungle Boogie was featured on blockbuster Pulp Fiction’s multi-Platinum-selling soundtrack, and several Hip Hop and Rap performers – including P. Diddy, Coolio, and Will Smith – added their own twists to the band’s biggest hits.
In 2004 The Hits Reloaded was released, showcasing today’s hottest singers performing Kool & the Gang classics such as Ladies Night (Atomic Kitten), Get Down On It (Blue and Lil’ Kim), and Too Hot (Lisa Stansfield).
For tickets or more information, call (562) 916-8500 or go to cerritoscenter.com.
