KC and the Sunshine Band is an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

band that was founded in 1973 in

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

. Their best-known songs include the hits "

That's the Way (I Like It) "That's the Way (I Like It)" is a song by American disco and funk band KC and the Sunshine Band from their self-titled second studio album (1975). The single became the band's second No. 1 hit in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it is one of th ...

", "

(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" is a song recorded and released in 1976 by KC and the Sunshine Band for the album '' Part 3''. The song became their third number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as their third number-one on ...

", "

I'm Your Boogie Man "I'm Your Boogie Man" is a song written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, and performed by Casey's band KC and the Sunshine Band, from their fourth album '' Part 3'' (1976). Background Richard Finch said that the song was writ ...

", "

Keep It Comin' Love "Keep It Comin' Love" is a song by KC and the Sunshine Band, released as a single in 1977. It appeared on their 1976 album, '' Part 3''. The song, like its predecessor "That's the Way (I Like It)", became widely successful due to its sexual double ...

", "

Get Down Tonight "Get Down Tonight" is a song released in 1975 on the self-titled album by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The song became widely successful, becoming the first of their five No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached the ...

", "

Boogie Shoes "Boogie Shoes" is a funk/disco song by KC and the Sunshine Band, which first appeared on their 1975 self-titled album. The song became a hit after it appeared on the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack in 1977. It was subsequently released as ...

", " Please Don't Go" and " Give It Up". The band took its name from lead vocalist

Harry Wayne Casey Harry Wayne Casey (born January 31, 1951), better known by his stage name KC, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his band, KC and the Sunshine Band, as a producer of several hits for other art ...

's last name ('KC') and the 'Sunshine Band' from KC's home state of Florida, the Sunshine State. The group has had six top 10 singles, five number one singles and a number two single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

History

1970s

The band was formed in 1973 by

(KC), a record store employee and part-timer at

TK Records TK Records was an American independent record label founded by record distributor Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo in 1972. and based in Hialeah, Florida. The record label went bankrupt in 1981. "TK" was inspired by the initials of sound engineer ...

in Hialeah, Florida. KC originally called the band KC & The Sunshine Junkanoo Band, as he used studio musicians from TK and a local

Junkanoo Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes with origin in many islands across the English speaking Caribbean every Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year's Day (1 January). These cultural parades are predominantly showcased in t ...

band called the Miami Junkanoo Band. He was introduced to Richard Finch, who was engineering records for TK, and the Casey-Finch musical collaboration began. They were soon joined by guitarist Jerome Smith and drummer Robert Johnson, both TK

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

musicians A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. The first few songs, "Blow Your Whistle" (September 1973) and "Sound Your Funky Horn" (February 1974), were released as singles, and did well enough on the U.S. R&B chart and overseas that TK wanted a follow-up single and album. In the meantime, while working on

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

for KC & the Sunshine Band, the song "

Rock Your Baby "Rock Your Baby" is the debut single by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. A massive international ...

" (

George McCrae George Warren McCrae Jr. (born October 19, 1944) is an American soul music, soul and disco singing, singer who is most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby". Biography and career McCrae was the second of nine children, born in West Palm Bea ...

) was created. It was written by Casey and featured Smith on guitar, and became a number one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in 51 countries in mid-1974. The band's "Queen of Clubs", which featured uncredited

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

by McCrae, was a hit in the UK, peaking at number 7, and they went on a

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

there in 1975. KC and other band members were frequent guests on WHYI-FM, branded as Y-100, one of southeast Florida's more powerful FM pop stations, that covered Dade and Broward Counties and beyond. This gave the band significant hometown exposure, during the rise of the disco genre in one of the music's epicenters. With the release of the self-titled second album ''

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...

'' in 1975 came the group's first major U.S. hit with "

". It topped the R&B chart in April and hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in August. "

" also became a number one hit in November 1975 and the group received four nominations and one win at the 1976 Grammy Awards. The 1976 album ''

Part 3 Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer *Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) an ...

'' yielded two number one singles: "

" and "

". Another hit, "

"(1977), peaked at number two. Their success lasted until the fifth album from 1979; their last chart topping hit was " Please Don't Go", hitting number one for one week in January 1980, and becoming the first number one hit of the 1980s. With the explosion of

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...

and the declining popularity of disco, the group explored other styles and changed labels, joining

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1980 after TK Records went bankrupt. With a change in styles, Casey enjoyed success, dueting with

Teri DeSario Teri is a given name directly from Teresa. Notable people with the name include: * Teri Ann Linn (born 1961), American actress and singer * Teri Anulewicz, American politician * Teri Austin (born 1957), Canadian actress * Teri Byrne (born 1972), ...

with " Yes, I'm Ready", which hit No. 2 in March 1980; the adult contemporary sound was much different from his disco hits of the 1970s, and his first major success away from the Sunshine Band.

1980s

In 1981, the partnership between Finch and Casey came to an acrimonious end. Two years after the release of the previous album, the band released two albums with new material: '' The Painter'' (1981) and ''

Space Cadet Solo Flight ''Space Cadet Solo Flight'' is the seventh studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch (musician), Richard Finch and was released in 1981 on the TK Records, TK la ...

'' (1981). These albums generated little success, but in 1982, a hit track called " Give It Up" from the album ''

All in a Night's Work ''All in a Night's Work'' is the ninth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in August 1982 on the Epic label. History ''All in a Night ...

'' (1982) brought a return to success in the UK, and appeared two years later in the U.S. Top 40. The song was also featured on the band's next album, 1984's ''

KC Ten ''KC Ten'' is the tenth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey, Robert Walker, and Ron Taylor and was released in December 1983 on the Meca label. History ''KC Ten'' was cre ...

''. Epic Records, however, refused to issue the song as a single due to its prior failure in the US. Because of this, a frustrated Casey formed Meca Records, releasing the single himself on this label in a final attempt to garner the song some success in America. It worked, but the album still failed to meet expectations. This led to the group falling into stasis around 1985 with Casey's retirement.

1990s

A revival of interest in disco music in 1991 brought Casey out of retirement. He reformed the band with some new members and two other original members, (the percussionist Fermin Goytisolo and vocalist Beverly Champion-Foster) and began touring once again. The new band has released a large number of

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s through

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

, along with some newly recorded material. The album '' Oh Yeah!'' was released in 1993 after a ten-year gap between new albums (excluding compilations).

2000s and beyond

On July 28, 2000, guitarist Jerome Smith died accidentally while working as a bulldozer operator. In 2001 and 2007, the band released the albums '' I'll Be There For You'' and '' Yummy''. Both were composed of archived material recorded before their hiatus. They appeared in the 2003 remake of the

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'' The In-Laws''. On July 6, 2013, KC and the Sunshine Band were honored with a Golden Palm Star on the

Palm Springs Walk of Stars The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a walk of fame in downtown Palm Springs, California, where "Golden Palm Stars", honoring various people who have lived in the greater Palm Springs area, are embedded in the sidewalk pavement. The walk includes po ...

.Palm Springs Walk of Stars: listed by date dedicated
Web.archive.org

Discography

* '' Do It Good'' (1974) * ''

'' (1975) * ''

The Sound of Sunshine ''The Sound of Sunshine'' is the third studio album by the American funk and disco group The Sunshine Band. The album was produced by its vocalist Harry Wayne Casey, who did not perform vocals for the album, and Richard Finch. It was released ...

'' (1975) * ''

'' (1976) * ''

Who Do Ya (Love) ''Who Do Ya (Love)'' is the fifth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch (musician), Richard Finch and was released in August 1978 on the TK Records, TK lab ...

'' (1978) * ''

Do You Wanna Go Party ''Do You Wanna Go Party'' is the sixth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in June 1979 on the TK label. History ''Do You Wanna Go Par ...

'' (1979) * ''

'' (1981) * '' The Painter'' (1981) * ''

'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983) * '' Oh Yeah!'' (1993) * '' I'll Be There for You'' (2001) * '' Yummy'' (2007) * ''Feeling You! The 60's'' (2015) * ''A Sunshine Christmas'' (2015)

References

External links

* *
Band history
at ClassicBands.com
KC and the Sunshine Band discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

KC and the Sunshine Band albums to be listened
as stream on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Music Legends Part 1: KC & The Sunshine Band
at www.TheStandardReport.com

on Yuzu Melodies {{DEFAULTSORT:Kc And The Sunshine Band Musical groups established in 1973 American funk musical groups Musical groups from Miami American disco groups Grammy Award winners Epic Records artists Jay Boy artists RCA Victor artists Sony BMG artists