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From 1964 the band performed at jazz events most notably those which took place in a small theater every Sunday, this was the start of the career for 13 year old Robert Bell, his brother and five of their friends.
Originally the ensemble were called the "Jazzics" but changed their name in 1969 in order to avoid confusion which was caused when they called themselves "Kool and the Flames" which was a name extremely similar to one in which James Brown was using at the time. This then caused the group to rename themselves to "Kool & the Gang". 1969 saw them signed to De-Lite Records under Gene Redd who owned the label.
In 1969 under De-Lite records the band released their self titled debut album "Kool & The Gang". It is considered to be a classic in funk music and has been sampled by over 10 artists since its release.
In 1975 the band released their very well received alum "Light Of Worlds" this received 3.5 stars from rolling stone and contained the very successful song "Higher Plane" this song was able to reach number 1 on the R&B charts.
Many Kool and the gang songs have gone on to feature on multiple platforms. Songs have been used in films such as "Baby Boy", multiple commercials such as a Nike shoe commercial starring LeBron James and even the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
I was lucky enough to see Australian singer John Butler live at Crossroads as part of the John Butler Trio. It was an excellent performance and John is an excellent performer. They performed the fun and funny song "Treat Yo Mama" and it was a lively, upbeat, fun performance. It was interesting to see a country twang sound come from Australians. But they also rocked hard and had more to offer than just that. I also loved that they had big band instruments in the mix and not just rock guitars, drums, and keyboards.
The audience found the whole show quite compelling and fun. Everyone clapped and moved around to the music. It was very cathartic in both the music and just the show itself. Something about it felt like just letting off steam and having fun with friends. We all loved the music but we also loved just having fun to the beat.
It was a great atmosphere to be a part of, and John Butler and his Trio helped facilitate this very well. I highly recommend John Butler or the John Butler trio as live entertainment for any concert. You should see him as soon as you can, he is an amazing performer.
It was nice to hear this band, it definitely made me nostalgic for the 80's. This kind of musuc brings me back to my youth, what a different time that was
rodolfomaya55
We enjoyed both shows very much. Unknown to us, Robben’s band was a 4 piece; rhythm guitar, bass and drums. I’ve seen Robben many times and I has never seen him employ a strictly rhythm guitarist. Female bass players tore it up and the drummer was very groovy. Most of the music was brand new; very rock, funk, blues and be-bop jazz’ish. Very happy to have made the gig.
marklcenter
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