Year 8, Day 251

Hey guys. Today's song is Shake Your Booty by KC & the Sunshine Band.

Photo by: Matt Johnson

So KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco/funk group that was active from 1973 until 1985, then again since 1991. There have been too many members to name, so I'm not including the list of past members, but currently the group is made up of Harry Wayne Casey, Maria De Crescenzo, Anika Mungin, Fermin Goytisolo, David Simmons, J Whitt, Steve Lashley, John Reid, Cisco Dimas, Miles Fielder, Felipe Lamoglia, and Michael Joy. The group was started by Casey, and was originally KC & The Sunshine Juckanoo Band since it was formed with studio musicians and members of the Miami Juckanoo Band. Fun Fact: Juckanoo refers to street parades with music, dance, and costumes, and is usually seen in the Caribbean. Casey them met and teamed up with Richard Finch, and brought in Jerome Smith and Robert Johnson as well. After an album release in 1974, they released their self-titled album in 1975, which earned them four Grammy nominations and one win. They released another album in 1975, then yet another album in 1976, which is where this song is from. There was another album in 1978, and one in 1979, but after that the disco craze started to die. They changed labels, and started trying different sounds, then Finch and Casey's partnership crashed and Finch was gone. The band released two albums in 1981 and another in 1982, and in 1984. The albums didn't really do that well. A song that worked on the album in the UK was shot down as a single by the label, since it had failed in the States so Casey formed his own label to release it as a single. It worked for that song, but the album overall failed and Casey retired, leaving the group dormant in 1985. Casey came out of retirement in 1991 and formed the group again, with some new and old members, and has released five albums since then, although two were of material from before the hiatus. But that still means there's lots for you to listen to if you're interested.

Peace.