We were delighted to be joined by Kelly and Dave from the highly recommended It’s The Groove podcast for this show. We put Kool & the Gang on trial this week, and it turns out sixty years of music doesn’t sort itself into neat halves quite as easily as we’d hoped. Kelly came for the 70s with “Hollywood Swinging” and “Summer Madness”. Dave came for the 80s with “Celebration” and “Fresh”. Both of them arrived with more evidence than they needed, which is always the sign of a good guest. The 70s case turned out to be an argument about what a band is. Seven musicians from Jersey City, no lead singer, the horn section doing the heavy lifting and everyone shouting the hook together — a genuine collective, and one that could still play jazz when it wanted to. “Summer Madness” was the moment that argument really bit. Strip away the chants and the party and you’re left with a synthesiser solo and a lot of space, and it holds up beautifully. The 80s case was about how a band adapts to survive. Yes, they hired Eumir Deodato. Yes, they hired a frontman in J.T. Taylor after fourteen years without one. But Dave’s point stood up: a band staring at the end of its career made a deliberate choice to survive, and what came out the other side was “Celebration” — a song that ended up soundtracking half the celebrations on earth – Dave tells the story behind its inspiration. Where it got genuinely difficult was “Ladies’ Night” — released in 1979, made entirely with the 80s formula. Neither side would let go of it and I’m not sure we ever settled it. What I keep coming back to is that the argument was never really about decades. Ronald Bell wrote across both eras; what changed was who was in the producer’s chair and who was standing at the front. Whether a band that hires its way out of trouble is still the same band is a question that outlasts this show by some distance. Thanks to Dave and Kelly. Sixty years, two bands, one name — and Robert “Kool” Bell still out there with the bass. Broadcast 27 July 2026

Songs in this episode:

0:00 NZ Net Radio – VS Kool and The Gang 70s vs 80s
1:04 Kool & The Gang – Hollywood Swinging
2:22 NZ Net Radio – VS Kool and The Gang 70s vs 80s
3:26 Kool & The Gang – Celebration
4:47 NZ Net Radio – VS Kool and The Gang 70s vs 80s
5:51 Kool & The Gang – Summer Madness
7:15 NZ Net Radio – VS Kool and The Gang 70s vs 80s
8:19 Kool & The Gang – Fresh
9:40 NZ Net Radio – VS Kool and The Gang 70s vs 80s
10:44 Kool & The Gang – Misled