CoronaVinyl Day 177 (K): Emergency by Kool & The Gang

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "K," and all but a few of my remaining albums by K artists are KISS albums.  But before we get to those after a couple more trips through the alphabet, we're starting with Kool & The Gang's 1984 album Emergency.

Kool & The Gang was formed in 1964 and rose to prominence in the early to mid '70s as a funk band.  They had a string of funk and disco hits in the '70s -- like "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging" -- before hiring J.T. Taylor as their lead singer in 1979 and working with Brazilian musician Eumir Deodato as their producer.  The band didn't entirely shift its sound away from funk and dance music, but definitely went a little more mainstream, with huge hits like "Ladies Night," "Celebration," "Too Hot," and "Joanna."

Emergency was the band's 16th studio album, and it reached #13 on the Billboard album chart and eventually went double platinum in the U.S.  All four songs on the first side of the album cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and were Top 10 on the Billboard R&B singles chart:  "Cherish" (#2; #1); "Fresh" (#9; #1); "Misled" (#10; #3); and "Emergency" (#18; #7).

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Emergency"

The title track is the kind of funk rock pop song that could only have been made in the '80s.  But it's catchy as hell, while maintaining a funky edge.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Surrender"
"Surrender" is another song that trends more towards funk, so I like it.  That's about all I need or have to say.