KC and the Sunshine Band are an American disco and funk band that were founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "Get Down Tonight", "That's the Way (I Like It)", "⁠(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Boogie Shoes", "Please Don't Go", and "Give It Up". The band took their name from lead vocalist Harry Wayne Casey's last name ('KC') and the 'Sunshine Band' from KC's home state of Florida, the Sunshine State. The group had five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: four in the 1970s and the first number one song of the 1980s.

History

1970s

The band was formed in 1973 by Harry Wayne Casey (KC), who was a record store employee and part-timer at TK Records in Hialeah, Florida. The band was originally called KC & The Sunshine Junkanoo Band because KC used studio musicians from TK and a local Junkanoo band called the Miami Junkanoo Band. During this time, bassist Richard Finch had been engineering records for TK, which is how the Casey-Finch musical collaboration began.

The release of the self-titled second album KC and the Sunshine Band in 1975 spawned the group's first major U.S. hit with "Get Down Tonight". "That's the Way (I Like It)" also became a number one hit

On August 2, 2002, KC and the Sunshine Band were given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2001 and 2007, the band released the albums I'll Be There For You and Yummy. Both were composed of archived material recorded before their hiatus.

They appeared in the 2003 remake of the movie The In-Laws.

On July 6, 2013, KC and the Sunshine Band were honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

On July 1, 2024, the KC and the Sunshine Band Musical Who Do Ya Love? premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A reworked version of the musical is scheduled to transfer to the Charing Cross Theatre in London's West End in September 2025 under the name Get Down Tonight.

Discography

  • Do It Good (1974)
  • KC and the Sunshine Band (1975)
  • The Sound of Sunshine (1975)
  • Part 3 (1976)
  • Who Do Ya (Love) (1978)
  • Do You Wanna Go Party (1979)
  • Space Cadet Solo Flight (1981)
  • The Painter (1981)
  • All in a Night's Work (1982)
  • KC Ten (1983)
  • Oh Yeah! (1993)
  • I'll Be There for You (2001)
  • Yummy (2007)
  • Feeling You! The 60's (2015)
  • A Sunshine Christmas (2015)

KC and Finch works

Songwriter: H.W. Casey & Richard Finch

  • "Rock Your Baby" (1974) - George McCrae, pop number one
  • Dance Across the Floor (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "Get Happy" (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "Gimme Some" (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "I Wanna Go Home with You" ((1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "Don't Worry about It" (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "It's Your Sweet Love" (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "Let Me" (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "Ask the Birds and the Bees" (1978) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "You Get Me Hot" (1979) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • Goin' Home for Love(Foster/Casey/Finch/Horne) ((1979) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "I Get Lifted" (1979) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne
  • "Without You" (1979) - Jimmy "Bo" Horne

References

  • Band history at ClassicBands.com
  • KC and the Sunshine Band discography, album releases & credits at Discogs
  • KC and the Sunshine Band albums to be listened as stream on Spotify
  • Music Legends Part 1: KC & The Sunshine Band at www.TheStandardReport.com
  • Interview on Yuzu Melodies