Kool and the Gang interviews, articles and reviews from Rock's Backpages

Kool & The Gang (1986)

Interview by Simon Witter, Rock's Backpages audio, December 1986

The Bell boys talk about the road from hard funk to pop-funk, changes of personnel, their jazz roots and describe a year in the life of the band.

File format: mp3; file size: 35.8mb, interview length: 39' 07" sound quality: **

Introducing Kool And The Gang

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 September 1971

CONSIDERING THAT Kool & The Gang have only ever had one British release they have an incredible following. That release – well over a year ...

The Black-Latin-Jazz-Rock-Vocal Bands

Profile by Vernon Gibbs, Soul Sounds, November 1972

THERE SEEMS to be a definite increase of interest among young Black and Third World musicians, who are either not technically equipped or deeply enough ...

The J.B.'s: Doing It To Death (People); Kool & The Gang: Wild And Peaceful (D-lite)

Review by Wayne Robins, Zoo World, 31 January 1974

IF THERE'S two movie theatres in your town, and one is showing some foreign art movie like Elvira Madigan or The Heartbreak Kid and the ...

Kool & The Gang: Street Gang

Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Black Music, February 1974

KOOL & THE GANG got that jitterbug move, got the spirit. Got that easy ride, got that cool energy. Got that diddley/daddy chenka chenk guitar ...

Kool The Brand Leader In Funky Stuff

Report and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 9 March 1974

KOOL AND the Gang are just about the biggest thing on the Southern (of England that is) soul scene at the monent, and they're even ...

Kool & the Gang: Wild And Peaceful (Polydor 2310.299)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 4 June 1974

THE MASTERS of funk, Kool and the Gang, offer what has to be one of the funkiest albums of all time. Kool fans will already ...

Gladys Knight & the Pips, the O'Jays, Kool & the Gang, Billy Eckstine, Donald Byrd: Nassau Coliseum, Long Island NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 5 July 1974

On L.I., Jazz Takes a Back Seat to Soul ...

Nancy Wilson, Kool and The Gang: The Apollo Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Phonograph Record, September 1974

"SING BLACK!," one dissenter shouted at Nancy Wilson who was the headliner at an Apollo show which included the comedy of Dick Gregory and was ...

If You Don't Believe Sly's Sinking...

Report by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 8 February 1975

...Look what a hole he's in. From New York VERNON GIBBS reports on the man's present crises, and on funk acts Kool, BT Express, and ...

Kool & the Gang: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 8 February 1975

HAVING BEEN informed in advance that the concert was being recorded for a forthcoming live album, coupled with the fact that it was their first ...

The Ohio Players, Kool & The Gang: From Ohio to Japan

Profile and Interview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 15 February 1975

THE OHIO Players have been America's number one R&B band for the last two years. Kool And The Gang were the first instrumental based band ...

Kool & The Gang, Oscar Toney Jr., Cymande: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

THEY USED to say that the day that funky music would grab any kind of attention on this side of the Atlantic would be as ...

Kool & The Gang: Bringing Funk To The Folks

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 18 February 1975

IT WAS sad to stand there at the Rainbow Theatre in London's Finsbury Park area (five minutes from the Arsenal football ground for geography lovers!) ...

The Funk Masters #2: Kool & the Gang

Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, April 1975

The Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang hit town last month, and suddenly dreary ol' London town became Bump City. Tony Cummings reports... ...

The Kay-Gee's

Profile by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 September 1975

IF YOU'RE talking of funky disco groups today, you're sure to mention Kool & the Gang, B.T. Express, the Fatback Band – and the Kay-Gees. ...

Kool and the Gang: Spirit Of The Boogie; Ohio Players: Honey

Review by Richard Williams, Let It Rock, 1 December 1975

OCCUPYING ROUGHLY the same area in the impressively wide spectrum of contemporary Black music, these two orchestras both play for dancers but nevertheless perform entirely ...

Kool and the Gang: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 18 September 1976

THE PAST couple of years have seen the needs of the discotheque exerting ever greater influence on the prevailing direction of much popular music. The ...

Kool And The Gang: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976

DO YOU ever feel out of touch? Secure in the calm of your own head while all about you are losing theirs. It's a disquieting ...

Kool and The Gang: The Gang's Still Kool Baby

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 May 1977

Kool & the Gang have been through a period of transition recently and undergone personnel changes. But in continuing with their Disco-Funk material they're still ...

Kool & the Gang: Kool's Nasty Silly

Profile by Joe McEwen, The Village Voice, 24 April 1978

YOU'D NEVER know it from their last couple of albums, but there was a time when Jersey City's Kool and the Gang had a real ...

Singles Charts: Quick! Before They Vanish!

Overview by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 8 December 1979

DANNY BAKER checks out the singles charts. ...

Cruisin' with Deodato

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 21 October 1980

Eumir Deodato's interests have always spanned the whole musical spectrum, as reflected in his 1973 smash hit, 'Theme From 2001'. Currently, he's in the spotlight ...

Kool And The Gang at the Apollo Theatre, London

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 1982

WHEN THE American Funk Band Of The Month comes to town it doesn't really matter who they are as long as they're on the Robbie ...

Kool & The Gang: As One (De-Lite)

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 2 October 1982

GANG FARE BORE ...

Kool & The Gang: Apollo, Victoria

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 16 October 1982

SINCE THEY possess in general less of an all-consuming respect for their own genius than their contemporaries in white rock music, black soul groups often ...

Kool and the Gang: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 25 February 1984

KOOL AND his men personify the exhilarated and bloodless heart of pop-soul. For some reason they are always celebrating: they stand us up for the ...

Kool & the Gang: Twenty Years of Funk Foundation and Pop Permutation

Interview by Mark Rowland, Musician, April 1984

ROBERT "KOOL" Bell's father was a boxing man. He worked his trade on the upper west side, part of a neighborhood now long gone, Lincoln ...

Kool and the Gang: Gold Isn't Good Enough

Interview by Steve Bloom, Record, May 1984

After some lean years Kool and the Gang are thinking platinum again ...

Kool & the Gang: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 5 January 1985

WHEN A band do what they do as well as Kool And The Gang, it's churlish to complain about their lack of adventure. Their trailblazing ...