Kool & the Gang's Robert "Kool" Bell

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Jesse Thorn

Society & Culture

4.5 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kool & the Gang have made some of the biggest hits of all time. We're talking about some of the greatest party songs ever: "Get Down On It," "Celebration," "Ladies Night." But, we're also talking about a lot more than just dance floor fillers. Kool & the Gang hit the music scene in the mid-60s and took off running. By the time they started recording in 1968, they were one of the baddest bands in the country. Now, it's been a half-century since Kool & the Gang started making music, and they're still at it. They have a new album dropping on July 14th called People Just Wanna Have Fun. On Bullseye, Robert "Kool" Bell stops by to chat about the new album and his long career with Kool & the Gang. Plus, the stories behind the group's hit songs and what motivates them to keep recording after more than 50 years.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:07.8	It's Bullseye, and Jesse Thorn.
0:18.1	Look, who doesn't love Cool in the Gang?
0:20.9	Go to a wedding.
0:21.9	Everybody loves Cool in the Gang.
0:23.9	We're talking about some of the greatest party songs of all time.
0:28.7	Put down on it.
0:29.9	Celebration.
0:30.9	Ladies night.
0:31.9	But we're also talking about a lot more than Dance floor fillers.
0:36.8	After all, the first version of Cool in the Gang wasn't even called Cool in the Gang.
0:41.5	They were called the Jazzy-Ax.
0:44.7	My guest Cool, Robert Bell, started the group with his brother Ronald and some of their
0:49.6	friends from high school.
0:51.8	They were playing jazz, but not just jazz.
0:55.9	They did everything else.
0:56.9	They backed everyone who came through town.
0:59.1	They played instrumental covers of Motown Records.
1:01.8	They played James Brown songs.
1:04.2	And they realized that if they were going to do all of these things, well, they probably
1:08.9	shouldn't be called the Jazzy-Ax.
1:12.1	They didn't really have a singer, a front man, but Robert had the best nickname, so they
	...

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