How come Kool & the Gang is not in the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame?

[GARFIELDKOOL]

The have been together for over 40 years. They got 9 #1 singles. They got lots of songs in the top 40. They claimed their place in the 70s with other funk groups. They were one of the biggest selling groups of the 80s. They have been an inspiration for a lot of hip-hop artists and hip-hop groups. They should have been inducted when P-Funk and Earth, Wind, and Fire was inducted. Kool & the Gang have paid their dues. What is taking so long?

[Steve M.]

They are the pride of West Orange, New Jersey, which is a stone's throw away from where I live. "Ladies' Night" and "Celebration" are two of the greatest funk songs ever. Robert "Kool" Bell is a crackerjack bassist. Yeah - why aren't they in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? :mad:

[ABlairican Pie]

How necessary IS the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anyway?? A lot of artists get overlooked by it.

[isiahthomas]

GarfieldKool if you think them not being in the rock & roll hall of fame yet is bad, what about James Taylor not getting his due for being a great singer. James JT Taylor has a great voice & he never gets talked about for being one of the greatest r&b singers of all time. He's in the top 5 in my book for r&b singers of all time. If it wasn't for him, Kool & The Gang wouldn't have had any success in the early 80's.

[LadyBee]

I don't have a feeling one way or another. They've never struck me as innovative or as one of the top funk groups. During their pre-JT years, they recorded "Funky Stuff" or "Jungle Boogie" sound-alikes numerous times. Hell, they even ripped off their own "Hollywood Swinging" and retitled it "Rhyme Tyme People".
Even when J.T. was their lead singer, they tended to repeat their grooves over and over and over...

I'm pretty sure there are R&R inductees who did the same thing. Eh...

[GARFIELDKOOL]

I don't have a feeling one way or another. They've never struck me as innovative or as one of the top funk groups. During their pre-JT years, they recorded "Funky Stuff" or "Jungle Boogie" sound-alikes numerous times. Hell, they even ripped off their own "Hollywood Swinging" and retitled it "Rhyme Tyme People".
Even when J.T. was their lead singer, they tended to repeat their grooves over and over and over...

I'm pretty sure there are R&R inductees who did the same thing. Eh...

It's funny LadyBee, I always felt this way about K.C. and the Sunshine Band. ALL their songs sound alike.

[LadyBee]

It's funny LadyBee, I always felt this way about K.C. and the Sunshine Band. ALL their songs sound alike.

LOL. You kind of have a point there. :lol:
Although, I find a lot of it enjoyable to listen to. My absolute favorite song of theirs is "I Get Lifted". Why their version wasn't released as a single as opposed to George McRae's less intense version was, I will never understand. :confused:

[Zions Mother]

I don't know why Kool and the Gang haven't been inducted. There's still time. Charles(Charlie) has a new single out. The Commodores have not been inducted yet either and I would vote for them before K & G.

[Jrnygrl]

How necessary IS the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anyway?? A lot of artists get overlooked by it.

I have to agree with you! :cool: :)

[isiahthomas]

Zions Mother who is Charlie? Are you talkin about Charlie Wilson of The Gap Band? If you're talkin about him, i saw his new video. I can't believe he's still making albums.

[Zions Mother]

Zions Mother who is Charlie? Are you talkin about Charlie Wilson of The Gap Band? If you're talkin about him, i saw his new video. I can't believe he's still making albums.


Hi isiahthomas,

Yes, I'm talking about Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band. My bag. I'm reading kool and the Gang with Gap Band on my mind. Anyhoo, yeah Charlie with his old self is still making music. The Gap Band toured about 2 years ago, they were in Pgh, PA and happen to be friends of one of my brothers. I unfortunately have not had the privilege of meeting them, I'm never around when they are. :(

I'll vote for the Gap Band over Kool and the Gang too. :wave:

[isiahthomas]

Charlie Wilson also sings on Snoop Dogg's albums a lot. He was on Snoop's last album on the song Signs with Justin Timberlake. Snoop had a video for that song. That song is horrible.

[Zions Mother]

Charlie Wilson also sings on Snoop Dogg's albums a lot. He was on Snoop's last album on the song Signs with Justin Timberlake. Snoop had a video for that song. That song is horrible.

I don't think I've heard the song from Snoops album. I'll have to take a listen.

Charlies new album 2005 is called "Charlie, Last Name Wilson"

Are you a DJ Rogers fan also? Charlie used to sing back up for him. As far as I know, he's no longer recording. He went back to preaching and writing for gospel artist.

[isiahthomas]

I've never heard of DJ Rogers. I love The Gap Band. I got their Gap Band III, Gap Band IV, Gap Band V, Gap Band VI albums. I haven't heard their other albums & i haven't heard Charlie Wilson's solo albums.

[Tuesday Weld]

I don't have a feeling one way or another. They've never struck me as innovative or as one of the top funk groups. During their pre-JT years, they recorded "Funky Stuff" or "Jungle Boogie" sound-alikes numerous times. Hell, they even ripped off their own "Hollywood Swinging" and retitled it "Rhyme Tyme People".
Even when J.T. was their lead singer, they tended to repeat their grooves over and over and over...

I'm pretty sure there are R&R inductees who did the same thing. Eh...

I like Kool and The Gang, but I also agree with what you said - their style doesn't especially stand out. I like a few of their songs very well, but I wouldn't want an extensive collection of theirs.

[Tuesday Weld]

It's funny LadyBee, I always felt this way about K.C. and the Sunshine Band. ALL their songs sound alike.

I LOVE KC and the Sunshine Band! I think they're great! :biglove: :D

[Brian Damage]

I saw JT Taylor in concert last year and he sung Ladies Night, Celebration, and a couple of other songs and he tore the house down.

[Zions Mother]

I've never heard of DJ Rogers. I love The Gap Band. I got their Gap Band III, Gap Band IV, Gap Band V, Gap Band VI albums. I haven't heard their other albums & i haven't heard Charlie Wilson's solo albums.

Ask your mother. I'm sure she has heard of DJ Rodgers. Popular tracks for him were "Say You Love Me", "Love Brought Me Back", and "Bula Jean". Bula Jean always makes me cry. :crying:

His son DJ, Jr. has an album EmoSoul which I haven't heard but it features: Heavy D, India Arie, and Angie Stone.

[isiahthomas]

Brian Damage where did you see James Taylor in concert last year? I wanna see him in concert. Was he performing with Kool & The Gang when you saw him?

[GARFIELDKOOL]

I like Kool and The Gang, but I also agree with what you said - their style doesn't especially stand out. I like a few of their songs very well, but I wouldn't want an extensive collection of theirs.

Well, maybe their style doesn't stand out like some of their peers. They weren't colorful and flamboyant like Earth, Wind, and Fire and P-Funk, they didn't have naked women on their album covers like the Ohio Players, but they did what they do best, FUNK. I own all of their earlier albums and they were raw but they were banging with them horns. You should hear them. James brown even admitted at the time they were second behind him. Horns are sometimes annoying, but Kool & the Gang's were on the money. Nobody chiseled horns like they did. I guess that explains why their logo is a horn. And Lady Bee, Funky Stuff and Jungle Boogie don't sound alike. have you heard Higher Plane? What abot More Funky Stuff. Love and Understanding? Who's Gonna take the weight? Summer Madness? They got the respect of their peers.

[isiahthomas]

That's right GarfieldKool. Take up for your favorite group. That's the way to put LadyBee in her place LOL. LOL@at least Kool & The Gang didn't have naked women on their album covers like the Ohio Players hahahahahahahaha. GarfieldKool you know i love Kool & The Gang but like i told you before, i didn't start liking them until James Taylor joined them. Who was their lead singer before James joined them? Who is that guy that sang lead on Hollywood Swingin? I can't believe LadyBee said Kool & The Gang's songs sounded alike in the 80's. They made very good albums in the 80's such as Celebrate, Something Special, As One, Emergency. I haven't heard their In The Heart album but a friend of mine is gonna burn me a copy of that album on cd since it's not available to buy on cd. I have heard Joanna & Tonight songs from In The Heart album. Forever album which is the last album James Taylor did with them wasn't that good but i did like the songs Victory, Holiday, Stone Love from that album.

[GARFIELDKOOL]

That's right GarfieldKool. Take up for your favorite group. That's the way to put LadyBee in her place LOL. LOL@at least Kool & The Gang didn't have naked women on their album covers like the Ohio Players hahahahahahahaha. GarfieldKool you know i love Kool & The Gang but like i told you before, i didn't start liking them until James Taylor joined them. Who was their lead singer before James joined them? Who is that guy that sang lead on Hollywood Swingin? I can't believe LadyBee said Kool & The Gang's songs sounded alike in the 80's. They made very good albums in the 80's such as Celebrate, Something Special, As One, Emergency. I haven't heard their In The Heart album but a friend of mine is gonna burn me a copy of that album on cd since it's not available to buy on cd. I have heard Joanna & Tonight songs from In The Heart album. Forever album which is the last album James Taylor did with them wasn't that good but i did like the songs Victory, Holiday, Stone Love from that album.

They didn't have a full-time lead singer before J.T. The Horns took the lead. Ricky Westfield was the lead singer on Hollywood Swinging. He left the group in 1976 and died in 1987. On one of their live cds, they dedicated that cd to him and said, "May Hollywood for ever Swing, baby."

[LadyBee]

And Lady Bee, Funky Stuff and Jungle Boogie don't sound alike. have you heard Higher Plane? What abot More Funky Stuff. Love and Understanding? Who's Gonna take the weight? Summer Madness? They got the respect of their peers.


I didn't post that "Funky Stuff" and "Jungle Boogie" sounded alike. I wrote they recorded "Funky Stuff" or "Jungle Boogie" sound-alikes numerous times. They teneded repeat those singles formulas on subsequent LPs, something that carried over, to a lesser extent, into the J.T. years as well. (You can't convince me "Steppin Out" doesn't kinda sound like something from the 'Ladies Night' or 'Celebrate!' albums.)
I don't question their talent, however, they rode the formulaic train more than they probably should have. They're not the only group to do that. My beloved Isley Brothers songs tended to sound alike on the same album. Take from that what you will.

I've heard all those aforementioned songs, the one that stands out is "Love And Understanding". The horn arrangement is tight! Sounds as good as EW&F's horn section. I like the studio version of "Summer Madness" better than the live version. Personally, I don't know why they added the female background vocalists on some of their cuts. Bah!

[Zions Mother]

The have been together for over 40 years. They got 9 #1 singles. They got lots of songs in the top 40. They claimed their place in the 70s with other funk groups. They were one of the biggest selling groups of the 80s. They have been an inspiration for a lot of hip-hop artists and hip-hop groups. They should have been inducted when P-Funk and Earth, Wind, and Fire was inducted. Kool & the Gang have paid their dues. What is taking so long?

In case you didn't know and you want to go see them.


Fri, 08/05/05
08:00 PM
Kool & the Gang Elks Lodge Ground
Southampton, NY