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

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

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 Coati Mundi (musician), Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin ...

Early life and career

Darnell was born in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

in 1950. His mother was from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

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 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 Brita ...

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

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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

back-story A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's preparat ...

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 (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

after studying English and drama at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

. 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 ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

with

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

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. The phrase embodi ...

". 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 that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...

, 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) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

film ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American Musical film, 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, W ...

'') 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), 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 and ...

s, notably that of

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), 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: Arts and ent ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

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 that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

". The group released three albums, '' Off the Coast of Me'' (1980), '' Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places'' (1981) and '' Tropical Gangsters'' (1982), that became especially popular and successful in Europe. Darnell also worked as a producer with acts on

ZE Records ZE Records was a New York–based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban, and closed in 1984. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003; its website was last updated in 2019. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a Br ...

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

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

. 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 ...

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

Later life

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

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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, and

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, 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 drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: '' Man in Black: His Own ...

'' (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 have 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 People from Soundview, Bronx