Disco would not be disco without KC & The Sunshine Band???? !! They had a very simple ‘Hit’ formula. Simplistic Lyrics. Monster Groove Plus an instantly Addictive Hook. Repeat Endlessly. It just burrows into your brain stimulates your pleasure zones, and involuntarily starts pushing your booty side to side, head nodding up and own….I dare you to listen to their hits without boogieing ! Fun fact – KC&TSB truly believed in the power of repetition. On “Shake Shake Shake”, the word “Shake” is repeated 96 times. On “Get Down Tonight”, the words “Get Down” are repeated 48 times, on “That’s The Way”, the words “uh-huh uh-huh” is repeated 84 times…I have actually counted these! Well if you’ve got a formula that works, why change it, right?!

Their music was FUN – even the band had an absolute blast doing the songs.  They were regulars on the radio all through the mid-70s and early 80s and they were on all our mix tapes and party cassettes. The first KC&TSB song I ever heard was “That’s The Way (I Like It)” – the starting mix of bass, horns and vocals is instantly danceable, going from 0 to 100 in a millisecond! I remember dancing on my bed, in my kurta pyjama at 10pm on a Friday night with ‘A Date With You’ blaring on the radio, and, hearing it loud and proud out of the speakers at our parties

KC was Harry Casey, a Miami musician who started the band with his friend Richard Finch. Let me also get one thing out there – I always assumed KC was Black. The music has so much funk and soul – he had to be. But he isn’t! In facts he’s the only white man in the entire band??‍♂️. They had an amazing run of #1 hits, starting with “Get Down Tonight”, followed by “That’s The Way (I like It)”, “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty” and “I’m Your Boogie Man”! And then there was “Keep It Coming Love” and the brilliant “Boogie Shoes” that featured on the SNF soundtrack. Come on then, let’s Get Down Tonight !

Shake Shake Shake

Get Down Tonight