263 Hello K.C. and the Sunshine Band - Queen of Clubs

Chart  entered : 17  August  1974

Chart  peak : 7

Number  of  hits : 13

After  a  run  of  artists  that  America  wasn't  very  interested  in  we  tackle  a  group  that  were  a  much  bigger  deal  over  there  than  here. I  don't  think  I'd  heard  this  one  for  forty  years  but  it  was  still  familiar  because  1974  was  a  memorable  summer. New  families  had  moved  in  on  our  road  bringing  new  playmates, we  went  on  holiday  to  St  Annes, there  was  an  alarming  fire  at  the  chemical  works  just  up  the  road   and  then  a  murder  just  three  doors  away  but  most  of  all , there  was  the  knowledge  that  we  were  going  to  a  newly-opened  school  in  September  a  couple  of  miles  away  in  Rochdale, my  mother  having  decided  to  yank  us  from  St  Mary's  after  one  argument  too  many  with  the  husband-and-wife  team  who  ran  it. I  have  mixed  feelings  about  it  now. It  would  have  been  nice  to  finish  off  my primary  education  in  Littleborough  and  I  missed  out  on  a  great  teacher  who  I  got  to know  some  years  later.  On  the  other  hand  I  was  spared  two  years'  acquaintance  of  a  new  girl  who  went  to  St  Marys  as  we  left  - Deborah  Ward,  if  you're  reading  this  you  were  - perhaps  still  are -  a  grade  A  bitch. I  digress...

Despite  their  name  K.C.  and  the  Sunshine  Band  were  initially  a   studio  duo , singer  and  keyboard  player  Harry  Wayne  Casey and  his  songwriting  partner,  bassist  Richard  Finch.  Both  of  them  worked  for  T. K.  Records  in  Florida , Richard  having  the  more  senior  position.  A  bit  later  when  their  efforts  started  to  pay  off  and  the  need  to  play  live  became  an  issue  they  added  two  more  members  to  the  band  who  were  already  working  at  TK   as  session  musicians, guitarist  Jerome  Smith  and  drummer  Robert  Johnson.  On  stage  they  swelled  to 12  people  with  percussionists, a  brass  section  and  female  backing  singers , some  of  whom  were   also  present  on  the  records, but  those  four  were  the  only  official  members.

TK  Records  owner  Henry  Stone  was  indulgent  towards  their  efforts  and  gave  them  studio  time  to  work  on  some  songs. The  first  to  be  released  was  "Blow  Your  Whistle"  released under  the  name  KC  and  the  Sunshine  Junkanoo  Band  ( it's  a  type  of  Bahamian  rhythm )  in  September  1973.  There's  not  much  of  a  song  to  its  two  and  a  half  minutes . Harry  sings  a  few  exhortations  to  dance  and  make  music  but  the  spine  of  the  record  is  a  low-slung  bassline  - God  knows  why  Richard  allowed  Harry  to  be  credited  as  sole  author - winding  among  the  exuberant  percussion  and  chatter. It's  far  closer  to  War  than  what  we'd  generally  think  of  as  disco  despite  the  piercing  whistles.

Their  second  single  was  "Sound  Your  Funky  Horn "  ( which  became  their  second  UK  hit  )  in  December  1973. Harry  co-wrote  it  with  Clarence  Reid  who  made  a  name  for  himself  as  Blowfly  an  R  & B  Judge  Dread  although  the  lyrics  to  SYFH  seem  innocent  enough, just  a  series  of  instructions  to  the  musicians  to  lock  into  the  groove. The  whistles  have  been  replaced  by  a  horn  section  who  fill  up  all  the  spaces  while  Harry  sings  in  his  raspy  voice.  that    sounds  more  suited  to  rock  than  smooth  soul.

Harry's  voice  became  an  issue  with  the  duo's   next  song   "Rock  Your  Baby"  because  he  couldn't  hit  the  high  notes  required. It  was  touted  around  other  singers  coming  into  TK's  studios  and   the  little  known  George  Macrae  pounced  on  it.  The  song  of  course  was  an  international  sensation  and  number  one  in  every  market  that  mattered. Harry  and  Richard  hadn't  written  the  first  disco  record  but  it  was  the  genre's  Rock  Around  The  Clock   selling  over  10  million  copies  worldwide. Macrae  proved  unable  to  sustain  his  success  to  the  extent  that  he  doesn't  qualify for  a  post  here  but  the  song  established  its  writers  as  very  hot  property  indeed.

Their  next  single  was  this  one , a  third  track  from  their  LP  "Do  It  Good". It  was  written  by  Harry  and  an  outside  writer  Willie  Clarke. Ostensibly  an  expression  of  admiration  for  a   young  lady  whose  presence  is  required  for  a  party  to  swing  it's  long  been  thought  of  as  a  paean to  cocaine  and  the  lyrics  certainly  lend  themselves  to  that  interpretation  which  is  perhaps  why  you  don't  hear  it  on  the  radio.  Musically  it  picks  up  the  pace  from  their  previous  singles  with  a  pulsing  bassline  and  truncated  little brass  riffs  - The  Jam's  Precious  certainly  suggests  Mr  Weller  was  listening - for  urgency  and  the  euphoric  high  in  the  chorus  provided  by  the  falsetto  howls  of  Macrae  ( uncredited  but  he  could  hardly  complain  now ). Harry's  singing  isn't  technically  perfect  but  that  hardly  matters  on  such  an  exciting seize-the-  moment   record.