Everybody's Dancin'
| Everybody's Dancin' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1978 | |||
| Genre | Disco, funk | |||
| Length | 35:58 | |||
| Label | De-Lite | |||
| Producer | Kool and the Gang, Ronald Bell | |||
| Kool & the Gang chronology | ||||
| ||||
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
Everybody's Dancin' is a studio album by the American band Kool & the Gang, released in 1978. It peaked at No. 71 on Billboard's Top Black Albums chart.[1]
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
In 1978, despite their music's recent feature in Saturday Night Fever, Kool & the Gang were "at a low point"[3] of commercial decline.[4]
The Rolling Stone wrote that the band struggled to maintain its relevance in the disco world, despite a prominent horn section.[3] Speaking of the circa-1978 era, drummer George "Funky" Brown stated, "We tried our version of disco. It didn't work."[3]
The Detroit Free Press opined that "Kool and the Gang have gone bland," noting that "they've joined the disco lemmings...The edge has gone".[5]
Predecessor to commercial success
[edit]The year of its release, the band played at a record store to promote Everybody's Dancin'.[where?] When nobody showed up for the performance, the band was "humiliated".[citation needed] Ronald Bell recalled that a teenager visiting the store told the band "something they all vaguely sensed": that despite the success of "Jungle Boogie" (1973), "Hollywood Swinging" (1974), and "Funky Stuff" (1973), Kool & the Gang was "now...washed up". Bell claimed he took it as a wake-up call to "make something pop" the next time the band was in the studio.
The following year, producer Eumir Deodato arranged for traditional choruses, a front man vocalist (J. T. Taylor) and the band released Ladies' Night. It was their first major success and their first album to go platinum.[3]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everybody's Dancin'" | Ronald Bell | 8:02 |
| 2. | "Dancin' Shoes" | Claydes Smith | 3:54 |
| 3. | "Big Chief Funkum" | Ronald Bell | 4:50 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Like Music" | Ronald Bell | 3:37 |
| 2. | "You Deserve a Break Today" | Ronald Bell, Deborah Bell | 3:36 |
| 3. | "At the Party" | Ronald Bell | 3:30 |
| 4. | "Stay Awhile" | George Brown, Cynthia Huggins | 4:43 |
| 5. | "It's All You Need" | Claydes Smith | 3:13 |
| 6. | "Peace to the Universe" | Claydes Smith | 0:33 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Kool & the Gang". Billboard. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Kool & the Gang: Everybody's Dancin’" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ a b c d "He Sang Kool & the Gang's Hits. Now He's Headed to Rock Hall of Fame". web.archive.org. 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- ^ "WBSS Media-Clifford Adams". web.archive.org. 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- ^ Duffy, Mike (31 Dec 1978). "Kool and his gang have gone bland". Detroit Free Press. p. 4B.
