1. a funky
rock'n'roll band that formed in the early 60's. They started out as a
soul-jazz fusion band then became the biggest selling act of the
80's. They didn't get the ubiquity of Michael Jackson or the notoriety of Duran Duran, they simply had albums frequently on the chart, singles somewhere on the Hot 100 and videos on the networks like
MTV, BET, VH1. Their songs are well known to this
day, their only #1 hit is the classic 'Celebrate' which is now played at sporting events, graduations, weddings,
bar mitzvahs, you name it. The band name comes from bassist Ron 'Kool' Bell and is sometimes abbreviated as 'KATG'.
2. a slang euphemism for 'everything's A-OK' or 'everything is alright'.
1. In
May 2019 I finally got to see Kool and the Gang perform. The Grim Reaper had whittled this 7 man band of multi-instrumentalists to 4
men, and they were supported on tour with local symphony orchestras (to pick up the slack). They were just as good as they ever were, stretching out like say an extended sax solo on their #
2 smooth ballad 'Cherish'. Sweet.
Sad to say, since 2019 two members have died so now there's only two surviving members. I'm glad I saw them when I did.
2. Their classic #1 'Celebrate' spent only ONE WEEK at #1 but look at the other Number Ones of late 1980 and tell me who remembers all of those, or even WANTS TO. KATG never did again
top the Hot 100 singles chart but they came pretty close a number of times - 'Cherish', ' 'Joanna', and the club favorite 'Fresh'. KATG are good guys, they made PSAs on
TV about staying in school, anti-drug ads without the lies and namby-pamby BS and more. They're KOOL, not fools.
3. Sonny: 'Whaddup?'
Rico: 'Everything's Kool and the Gang today'.
4. When Joe
Biden won the
Pennsylvania electoral votes, enough to make him win the
2020 Presidential election against the Traitor Il Douche, I didn't go out and join the celebrations in my home city that broke out instantly (CoVid, folks) so I went to my den, pulled out a KATG Greatest Hits CD and played 'Celebrate' at
top volume. It shook the house and everyone on the block heard it. And I DID NOT CARE! After 4 years of fascist hell it was
time to celebrate! Thanks, KATG.
