Kashmere Stage Band (KSB) was an elite performing unit of the student band at

Kashmere High School Kashmere High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas that serves grades 9 through 12; it is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood, and its namesake is the nearby Kashmere Garde ...

from the late 1960s until 1978.

History

Kashmere High School is located in a predominantly black neighborhood known as

Kashmere Gardens Kashmere Gardens is a historically African-American neighborhood in the northern 610 Loop area in Houston, Texas, United States. A group of single-family houses, many of which have large lots, Kashmere Gardens is between an industrial area and a rai ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Music teacher Conrad O. Johnson attended an

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

concert in 1967 and was inspired to translate the style of the concert into a program he could sustain at the high school in order to create opportunities for his student musicians, and thus the Kashmere Stage Band was born. During its time, KSB won national championships in high school band competitions and gained a reputation as being unbeatable. Johnson served as band director, arranger, and principal composer for the band. KSB recorded eight albums during its life. The teenagers in the Kashmere Stage Band produced a sound equal to that of the contemporary

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

bands The J.B.'s and the

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

. Although lost for decades, since 2003 the KSB recordings have been released, some for the first time, on both vinyl record and CD and have become prized by hip-hop artists and DJs for their inimitable sound. A notable sampling occurs on the

Handsome Boy Modeling School Handsome Boy Modeling School is an American collaborative project between hip hop producers Dan the Automator ( Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz). The collaboration originally lasted ...

album '' So... How's Your Girl?'';

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

’s track “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)” samples 'Kashmere' from the album ''Plays Originals''.

Stones Throw Records Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. '' LA Weekl ...

imprint label

Now-Again Records Now-Again Records is a Los Angeles–based music imprint that specializes in reissues and compilations of funk, soul, and psychedelic rock from the 1960s to the 1980s. Founded in 2002 by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt as a subsidiary of Stones Throw Reco ...

released a compilation of KSB material in 2006, ''

Texas Thunder Soul 1968–1974 ''Texas Thunder Soul 1968–1974'' is a two-disc compilation album of recordings by the Kashmere Stage Band, released on Now-Again Records in 2006. The first disc contains studio recordings by the group, including energetic cover versions of "Them ...

''. In February 2008, thirty original members of the Kashmere Stage Band, all in their mid-50s, reunited for the first time in over three decades to pay tribute to their legendary leader, Conrad "Prof" Johnson, who was 92 at the time. The story of Prof, the exceptional music program he built, and the historic reunion of his former students was captured in a feature-length documentary film, ''

Thunder Soul ''Thunder Soul'' is a 2010 American documentary film produced and directed by Mark Landsman. The film features narration by Jamie Foxx and stars Conrad Johnson. The film premiered at South by Southwest in 2010. Synopsis A former Kashmere High S ...

'', narrated by

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film '' Ray'', for which he won the ...

, released in theaters on September 23, 2011.

Discography

*''Our Thing'' (1969) *''Bumper to Bumper Soul'' (1970) *''Thunder Soul'' (1971) *''Zero Point'' (1972) *''Out of Gas "But Still Burning"'' (1973) *''Kashmere "73" Live In Concert'' (1973) *''Expo. '75 - Concert Tour Japan / Okinawa'' (1975) *''Plays Originals'' (1976) Compilations * ''Space City'' (Three Tee Records, 1980) (

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

with Bubbha Thomas) * ''Texas Thunder Soul, 1968–1974'' ( Now-Again, 2006) * ''Texas Thunder Soul, 1968–1974: Expanded Deluxe Edition'' (Now-Again, 2011)

Popular culture

Kashmere Stage Band's song "Kashmere" was featured on the ''

Baby Driver ''Baby Driver'' is a 2017 action film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Jamie ...

'' film's soundtrack, released under Columbia Records on June 23, 2017.

References

External links

David Brown of Austin's KUT interviews Conrad JohnsonConrad O. Johnson Hall of Fame profileDocumentary on Kashmere Stage BandVynyl.com re-issue of "Zero Point"The Conrad O. Johnson Music & Fine Arts FoundationNPR's ''All Things Considered'' story about the bandTexas State Historical Association page on Kashmere Stage Band
{{Authority control American funk musical groups American soul musical groups School bands Now-Again Records artists