![]() ''They were simplistic, commercial songs. I didn't know how it was going to happen, but I just had this strong gut feeling, like some kind of premonition-type thing.''Īt the time, he aimed to contrast the ''dark'' music of the time with something ''brilliant and uplifting'', he says. ''I've always had this gut feeling, this crazy intuition what I was destined to do. ''As far back as elementary school, when you were asked to put your occupation, I would put entertainer. I was just always surrounded by music and so I never thought of anything else in my life, really. ''My mother loved R&B music, she loved to dance my grandfather loved his music and his guitar. ''Every family function, my cousins would be playing and my mother and her sisters would be singing,'' he says. He says he believes he was predestined to go down the path he did once fame hit. Today, ''shaking bootys since 1973'' is the band's claim on its website and it's arguably correct, not least because KC claims he brought the word ''booty'' into the mainstream.Īt age 63, KC is still moving posteriors and is visiting Australia to perform at Byron Bay Bluesfest, with a couple of sideshows thrown in. From there the band emerged with its own hits, Get Down Tonight (1975), That's The Way (I Like It) (1975) and (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty (1976). KC's first big hit was as a songwriter with writing partner Richard Finch on the George McRay song Rock Your Baby (1974), which sold 11 million singles. In more magical moments, KC can lay claim to selling 100 million albums, racking up three Grammy awards and, most importantly, blazing a trail in the '70s with era-defining disco. ''No, she was just happy and excited for me to be there. In 2015, they delivered the tribute to '60s pop music, Feeling You! The 60's.KC and the Sunshine Band in their '70s hey day. The group continued to appear on the oldies circuit, also appearing in the studio for occasional albums such as 2001's I'll Be There for You, and 2007's Yummy. Casey led a studio album, 1993's Oh Yeah!, as well as the concert album Get Down Live! based on tour dates throughout North and South America. That decade saw the release of countless KC "hits" collections and even an episode of VH1's popular Behind the Music series that studied the group's ups and downs. Come the '90s, an appreciation of everything '70s swept across the U.S., which led to a renewed interest bands from the era, prompting KC & the Sunshine Band to re-form for concert performances. It was another Casey/Finch original, 1974's "Rock Your Baby," that R&B artist George McCrae scored a hit with as KC & the Sunshine Band began issuing further albums and singles, quickly scoring big hits on their own.īeginning in 1975, the group sustained an impressive run of disco hits: 1975's "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way (I Like It)," 1976's "Shake Shake Shake (Shake Your Booty)," 1977's "I'm Your Boogieman" and "Keep It Comin' Love," 1978's "Boogie Shoes" (included on the monster-selling soundtrack to the hit John Travolta disco movie, Saturday Night Fever), and 1979's "Do You Wanna Go Party" and "Please Don't Go."ĭespite earning nine Grammy nominations (receiving three awards) and selling millions of records, KC & the Sunshine Band were still susceptible to the backlash that disco bands felt by the dawn of the '80s, eventually leading to dwindling sales and the group's split by the early '80s (although KC scored a moderate solo hit in 1983 with "Give It Up"). KC & the Sunshine Band officially formed in 1973, but a debut single, "Blow Your Whistle," sunk from sight upon release. ![]() Casey and Finch first met in 1972 while both were employed by TK Records in Miami, where among other chores, Casey served as a personal secretary and booking agent for artist Timmy Thomas. During the mid- to late '70s, the multi-member and racially integrated group - led by bandleaders Harry Wayne "KC" Casey and Richard Finch - racked up some of the era's biggest, most recognized dance hits. The Bee Gees may have been the undisputed disco kings of the late '70s, but KC & the Sunshine Band weren't far behind.
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