KC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group that gained wide popularity in the second half of the 1970s of the last century. The group worked in mixed genres, which were based on funk and disco music. More than 10 singles of the group at different times hit the well-known Billboard Hot 100 chart. And the members received many prestigious music awards.
Creation of the group and the beginning of the creative path of the group KC and the Sunshine Band
The team got its name due to two facts. Firstly, the name of its leader is Casey (in English it sounds "KC"). Secondly, the Sunshine Band is a slang term for Florida. The group was finally formed in 1973 by Harry Casey.
At that time, he worked in a music store and at the same time worked part-time at a recording studio. Therefore, he could find talented musicians. Thanks to this, he managed to lure musicians from the Junkanoo team into the group.
Here he met and began to collaborate with sound engineer Richard Finch, who brought in several more musicians from the TK Records label. Thus, a full-fledged musical group was created, which included a drummer, guitarists, arranger and vocalist.
From the first songs, the group has proven itself commercially. Examples are Blow Your Whistle (1973) and Sound Your Funky Horn (1974). The songs hit a number of American charts, even went beyond America.
Both songs hit the European charts. This is how the group announced itself. After such success, the guys planned to record a few more singles and start preparing their debut album. However, everything turned out even more successfully.
At this time, Casey and Finch recorded a demo version of the song Rock Your Baby, which later became a hit. They came up with the idea to add the vocal part of the artist George McCrae to the song. After the musician sang, the song was ready and released as a single.
The composition was very popular both in the USA and in a number of European countries and became one of the main hits in the disco style. More than 50 countries were "conquered" by musicians thanks to this song. She did not leave all sorts of charts for a long time.
The debut album Do It Good (1974) became a much talked about record, but mostly in Europe. Little was said about the group in the US. However, this was corrected with the release of the next disc.
The rise of KC and the Sunshine Band
Due to the popularity of the Rock Your Baby single, the musicians went on a small tour. They visited several European cities with concerts, and in between they wrote a new album. The album was named after the band's name.
The album KC and the Sunshine Band was released in 1975 and was remembered by the American listener thanks to the hit Get Down Tonight. In a few months, the song took 1st position on the Billboard chart. At the end of the year, the musicians were even nominated for the prestigious Grammy music award. They didn't win an award, but they did an excellent job at the ceremony, which cemented their success.
The next release Part 3 had two successful singles at once: I'm Your Boogie Man and (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty. The songs took a leading position in the Billboard Hot 100, were appreciated by critics and listeners. After that, two more successful albums were released.
The last single to chart in the 1970s was Please Don't Go. The song topped most of the pop and R&B music charts in the United States and a number of European countries. This time was a turning point for the group. The advent of the 1980s marked a decline in interest in disco and the emergence of many new genres.
Further creativity. 1980s
Then the TK Records label went bankrupt, which for 7 years was non-replaceable for the team. The group was in search of a new label and signed a contract with Epic Records. From that moment on, the search for a new genre and a new sound began, as the guys perfectly understood that they could no longer achieve popularity with disco.
After a long search for Harry, Casey created a solo project and released the song Yes, I'm Ready with Teri de Sario. The composition is not similar to the previous work of the musician as part of the group. The calmer "thoughtful" sound made the song a real hit. She topped many charts for a long time.
In 1981, Casey and Finch stopped working together. However, the group continued their activities and released two albums at once in 1981: The Painter and Space Cadet Solo Flight. There was a crisis. Both albums were practically unnoticed by the audience. None of the songs charted.
The situation was corrected by the song Give It Up, which was released a year later (it is attributed to the new collection of musicians). The song was popular in Europe, mostly in the UK, but went unnoticed in the US. Because of this, Epic Records did not release it as a single, which led to a rift between the label and Casey.
He left to form his own company, Meca Records. Two years after his success in the UK, he released the single Give It U and made no mistake. The song became a hit in the US as well. Despite the hit single, the band's new album was still a "failure" in terms of sales. As a result of all the events taking place, the group suspended its activities in the mid-1980s.
The return of the group and later work
In the early 1990s, there was a new wave of interest in disco music. Casey saw this as a chance to revive the group and re-created the team. He attracted several new musicians and organized several tours. After successful concerts, a number of collections were released, which included new and old songs. After 10 years of silence, a new full-length album, Oh Yeah!, was released.
The band's latest releases are I'll Be There for You (2001) and Yummy. Both albums were not very successful in terms of sales, although the 2001 record was well appreciated by critics. Nevertheless, the team did not find its former success.
