Kool & The Gang, Morris Day and The Time, and Sister Sledge get down at Mt. Airy Casino in Mt. Pocono on July 2
From a press release:
Legendary multi-platinum hit-makers Kool & The Gang will get down on the outdoor summer stage at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono on Sunday, July 2 at 7 p.m. with funky fellow ’70s/’80s acts Morris Day and The Time and Sister Sledge.
Tickets, which are $45, $60, and $85, plus fees, are on sale now and can be purchased via ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets or at the Mount Airy Casino Resort box office (312 Woodland Rd., Mount Pocono).
Kool & The Gang has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and influenced the music of three generations. Thanks to songs like “Celebration,” “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Summer Madness,” and “Open Sesame,” they’ve earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top 10 R&B hits, nine Top 10 pop hits, and 31 gold and platinum albums. Kool & The Gang has performed continuously for over 50 years, longer than any R&B group in history. Their bulletproof funk and tough, jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled band of all time.
In 1969, Kool & The Gang released their self-titled debut album. It was the introduction to a theme, music is the message, that Kool & The Gang stands by today. The instrumental album was an expression of their deep love of music. It was also an introduction to their signature sound and the fierce horn arrangements created by Khalis, Dee Tee, and Spike. This album spawned their first Billboard R&B charted single, “Kool & The Gang,” and later “Let the Music Take Your Mind.”
In 1970, their audacious sophomore set “Live at the Sex Machine” peaked at No. 6 on Billboard’s R&B chart and yielded three hit singles: “Funky Man,” “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight,” and “I Want to Take You Higher.” The band’s stellar reputation grew with each album, but 1973’s gold disc “Wild and Peaceful” took Kool & The Gang to another level (No. 6 R&B, No. 33 pop), spurred by the immortal party anthems “Funky Stuff,” “Hollywood Swinging,” and the platinum smash “Jungle Boogie.” Hits like “Higher Plane” (No. 1 R&B), the classic “Summer Madness” (featured on the Grammy-winning “Rocky” movie soundtrack) and LPs “Spirit of the Boogie,” “Love & Understanding,” and “Open Sesame” followed. The latter’s title track was featured on the top-selling movie soundtrack of all time, “Saturday Night Fever,” earning the group their second Grammy.
In 1979, Kool & The Gang unveiled a smooth new sound with “Ladies Night.” Produced by the legendary pop/jazz musician Eumir Deodato, it became their first platinum album. The No. 1 R&B title track also reached No. 8 on the pop chart. It was followed by “Too Hot” (No. 3 R&B, No. 5 pop). The ’80s would see them dominate the mainstream, starting with the double platinum-selling album “Celebrate,” driven by the international monster hit “Celebration,” which spent six weeks atop the R&B chart and became a No. 1 pop single. The smashes “Get Down on It,” “Take My Heart,” “Let’s Go Dancing,” “Joanna,” “Tonight,” “Misled,” the No. 1 R&B, No. 2 pop giant “Cherish,” and the No. 1 R&B anthem “Fresh” (these last three from the multi-platinum LP “Emergency”) solidified the group’s international superstardom. Kool & the Gang landed global commercial endorsements, supported countless charitable causes, and were the only American group to participate in Band Aid’s 1984 “Do They Know It’s Christmas” project for famine victims in Africa.
With the explosion of hip-hop in the ’90s, Kool & the Gang’s incredible catalog of grooves made them DJ favorites, and they were second only to R&B icon James Brown as sources of rap music samples.
2004’s “The Hits Reloaded” found the band collaborating with such acolytes as Lil’ Kim, Sean Paul, Ashanti, and Blackstreet, among others. The band re-entered the Billboard R&B chart with 2006’s “Steppin’ Into Love,” receiving the NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) Chairman Award for lifetime achievement in record sales that same year.
Today, Kool & The Gang remains one of the most active touring bands, performing hundreds of shows every year to packed audiences of new and old fans around the world. The group enjoys global fame and recognition and a following that spans generations, due in part to the group’s widely sampled catalog. Their drum beats, bass, guitar, and signature horn lines lace the tracks of numerous artists, including the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Cypress Hill, and P. Diddy. Kool & The Gang is the most sampled band in hip-hop by far. Their music is also featured on the soundtracks for “Pulp Fiction,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” and countless other films.
Honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award, the band has performed live with a variety of artists, such as Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band, Elton John, The Roots, and a 50-city tour with Van Halen. In 2015, in the town they sing about in one of their earliest hits, ”Hollywood Swinging,” Kool & The Gang took their place as American musical icons with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2016 marked the band’s 50th year together. They celebrated the milestone by being inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame; receiving a touching tribute when a street they grew up on in Jersey City was renamed in their honor as “Kool & The Gang Way;” releasing “Sexy (Where’d You Get Yours),” the single from their upcoming album; and displaying Kool’s bass at the new Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture.
