“You got to get on the groove”. 40 years have passed and for those who have loved and still love disco music, it remains a sort of mantra.
This is the refrain of “Get Down on it”, maybe the greatest hit made by the Kool and the Gang, a band that really made the history of the funky disco scene. But this magic has been stopped by a Facebook post, some days ago, that unfortunately communicated the death of one of its founders (and sax player), Dennis Thomas, A.K.A. “Dee Tee”.
The co-founder of the American band, formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 made many songs besides Get Down on it : for example, “Celebration” , extracted from the album Celebrate! (1980), and Ladies Night, also a chart success, peaking at number 8 on the us Billboard Hot 100 in 1980 and stayed atop the R&B charts for two weeks.
It is no coincidence that the band is present in one of the most famous soundtrack of all time: Saturday night fever. Iconic is the scene in which a couple of dancers perform on a multicolored floor to the notes of “Open Sesame”, under the eyes of Tony Manero (aka John Travolta).
You can’t not mention “Jungle Boogie”, chosen, years after its release, for another cult film: “Pulp Fiction”. Do you remember the scene where Uma Thurman dances to this song?
The band is still active; in 2013 was released the Christmas album “Kool for the Holidays”, and we are waiting for the new album “Perfect Union”. It will be very exciting to hear playing, posthumously, Thomas and Khalis (Ronald Bell, who left us last year).
The first single is ‘Pursuit of Happiness’, written by Khalis, brother of Robert Bell, bassist of the group. “Pursuit of Happiness” is modern in a way that only timeless music can be. It is the result of the meeting, more than 50 years ago, of extraordinary talents, it’s the result of a real “Perfect Union”. We at “ProfessionalWeddingDJ” can’t wait to propose these new songs in our most beautiful wedding parties, to pay homage to the great “Dee Tee”.
Andrea Parker is a reporter for Zobuz. She previously worked at Huffington Post and Vanity Fair. Andrea is based in NYC and covers issues affecting her city. In addition to her severe coffee addiction, she’s a Netflix enthusiast, a red wine drinker, and a voracious reader.
