Thomas August Darnell Browder (born August 12, 1950), known professionally as August Darnell and under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently formed and led

Kid Creole and the Coconuts Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, an ...

Early life and career

Darnell was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

in 1950. His mother was from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

with Caribbean and Italian parents and his father from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. As an adult, Thom Browder began going by his two middle names, August Darnell. Claims from some sources that he was born in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, are erroneous; according to Darnell they stem from the fictitious

back-story A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

behind the Kid Creole character. Growing up in the multicultural area of the Bronx, Darnell was exposed early on to all kinds of music. Darnell began his musical career in a band named The In-Laws with his half-brother, Stony Browder Jr., in 1965. The band disbanded so Darnell could pursue a career as an English teacher. He taught at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School in Hempstead,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

after studying English and drama at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

. He later claimed that he established a musical career because he was a "frustrated actor". In 1974, again with Stony Browder, he formed Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, becoming its lyricist and bass player. The band combined swing and

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

with

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

rhythms and had its biggest hit in 1976 with "

Cherchez La Femme ''Cherchez la femme'' () is a French phrase which literally means 'look for the woman'. It is a cliche in detective fiction, used to suggest that a mystery can be resolved by identifying a femme fatale or female love interest. Origin of the p ...

". Their self-titled debut release was a Top 40-charting album which was certified gold and was nominated for a Grammy.

Kid Creole

In 1979, Darnell left Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. He joined the band

Machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

, and co-wrote their best known song "There But for the Grace of God Go I". He also began producing for other artists, such as Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band and Gichy Dan's Beachwood No.9, before adopting the name Kid Creole (adapted from the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

film ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

'') in 1980. Darnell described the persona of Kid Creole as "a flamboyant, devil-may-care bon vivant". With his band and backing singers (including Darnell's then-wife,

Adriana Kaegi Adriana Kaegi (born March 17, 1957) is a Swiss-born American actress, producer and former singer. Career Kaegi co-founded the band Kid Creole and the Coconuts together with August Darnell and Coati Mundi, both formerly of Dr. Buzzard's Original ...

), collectively known as Kid Creole and the Coconuts, he established an exuberant musical style drawing on such influences as

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

s, notably that of

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

and disco. Darnell wrote the lyrics, which "satirised the high life at a time when America was ravaged by

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

". The group released three albums, ''

Off the Coast of Me ''Off the Coast of Me'' is the debut album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1980. The album was reissued in 2003 with additional bonus tracks by Universal Island Records. Production The album kicked off a loose narrative—Kid Creole's ...

'' (1980), ''

Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places ''Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places'' is the second album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1981. Overview ''Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places'' is a concept album in the form of a musical travelogue. Describing the album's concept to ''The New ...

'' (1981) and ''

Tropical Gangsters ''Tropical Gangsters'' is the third album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released on May 10, 1982. Originally conceived as a solo album by band leader August Darnell and titled ''Wise Guy'', his label ZE Records pressured him to change it to a Ki ...

'' (1982), that became especially popular and successful in Europe. Darnell also worked as a producer with acts on

ZE Records ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 in music, 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford University, Oxford ...

. However, the band was much less successful in the U.S., and was eventually dropped by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. In 1983, Darnell formed a new swing big band,

Elbow Bones and the Racketeers Elbow Bones and the Racketeers was an American big band-era styled male/female vocal group, created by August Darnell, and best known for their hit single "A Night in New York", written by Ron Rogers and Deborah Clarkin, and released on the EMI l ...

, and gained the hit "A Night in New York".

Later life

Darnell moved to England in the 1980s, and later lived in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, and occasionally tours Kid Creole and the Coconuts with his European band. Darnell's daughter Savanna appeared as a contestant on the 2018 series of '' Love Island'', while his son Dario 'Youngr' Darnell appeared as the opening act on the second episode of Simon Cowell's new music competition for ITV called ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' Man ...

'' (13 December 2021). In 2019 Darnell married his girlfriend of 10 years, Eva Tudor-Jones in Maui. Eva has been a big part of the band's empire for 23 years, starting off as Mama Coconut in 1997 to now managing the band. Darnell and Eva share a daughter, born in Maui.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, August 1950 births Living people Musicians from the Bronx Kid Creole and the Coconuts members Hofstra University alumni