The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: George Brown Of Kool & The Gang Part 1

Episode Date: September 27, 2023

Funky George Brown of Kool & The Gang tells Questlove Supreme about an upbringing in Jersey City that made him fearless and creative at the same time. George recalls the band's early years, and describes what made this group so versatile, gifted, and cutting-edge.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar.

This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, for wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated

the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

On the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, I'm Ego Wood. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where, you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of,

you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot in luck. Listen to thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon and this is my friend. He's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green, co-hosted the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to The Away End with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Questlove Supreme. I'm your host, Questlove Supreme. With me, we have the strongest, the strongest team in the land. Of course, Team Supreme. Are you walking on the moon right now, Sugar Steve? That's correct.

Yes, the moon. That's where you're at. Okay, you're walking on the moon. We also got to Alley here with us. What up, Questlove, Supreme? How are you doing? I said, is this the name now? What did you say?

Oh, because you was like, welcome to Questlove Supreme. I am Questlove Supreme. Yes, you are. And yes, you are. I concur. I embodied the entire, sorry. You know, you good. That's what it is, sir.

Sorry. I know, Lai is working extremely hard. Future episodes. We're getting ready for another round of in-person episodes for the, for Questlove Supreme. So, you know. Oh, yeah. L.A. edition. Yes.

It's going to be exciting. Fontigolo. What's going on, man? What's going on? Dropping new bombs on us, man. Hey, I got to say. Yeah, man. Thank you.

Where did this come from? What, you know, you got to enlighten me. Where did this spark of an idea come from? Who and I, you know, we've just been, for the last couple of years, been working really hard, like, on the documentary. And then also, you know, playing a block party made in Durham. Uh, October 7th. But, uh, but, uh, but now, man, we just, I missed the chair, bro. I miss being in the chair.

I miss recording. And so we just like, yo, let's just go cook up. Like, we just wanted to have some fun and just, you know,

let them go. Those records, they're out now. Wish me well. Glory, glory is out on our platforms, but those records ain't even, they ain't even three weeks old.

Maybe a little over two weeks old. Like, they're fresh, fresh, we just finished. Wow. Fresh, fresh out the oven. All right. That's what's up.

It's exciting to me. That's more exciting and recording something and waiting for like, you know, however long, waiting a year. The cycle to get it done. A cycle.

Nah, bro. Cook it up, let it go. That's what's up, man. Yo, today's going to be an awesome episode. I will say that for the, wow, six, for the last six decades, our guest has literally been the heartbeat of Jersey City's finest musical unit. Jersey City's probably the most diverse unit. they pretty much changed music numerous, numerous times,

kind of going through a metamorphosis period, really not afforded to any artist, maybe close to Miles Davis in terms of going through different phases. Of course, you know, their late 60s, early 70s soul phase, and then we got the mid-70s funk phase and then exploding into the disco scene, adjusting to it well, well enough to guard them,

a Grammy album of the year not for their participation in the inescapable mammoth soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever. And then riding off successfully into the 80s with just an unprecedented streak of really perfect

dance pop classics. In my opinion, this unit, known as cool in the gang, is the dream, as far as legacies can turn, like dabbling, in many genres and of course with this being the hip-hop's 50th anniversary and our brother, lovingly known as Funky George, being part of the unit that's probably the most sampled.

I didn't realize that Kulman Gang is the most sample band in hip-hop. That's an honor. So that means that they also changed hip-hop. Well, we have him here today. We hope to go through his history and his legacy. the one and only, Funky George, Funky George Brown of Cool and the gang. Welcome to Quest Loves to Bree.

How you doing? Nice to be here, Quest. Great to have you. Where are you talking to us right now from? Where are you? I mean, Woodland Hills, California, the Valley. Okay. You know, Calabasasas, Tazana, that area, Woodland Hills.

So literally Hollywood Swinging. How long have you been out there? I've been here 37 years. You know, my band members would actually say, when you're coming back home, when you're going back to Jersey. You know, so it used to be a running joke. But I love it out here. Right before the pandemic, we were privy to a series of animated shorts

that basically told the story of the band's origins in their very beginning before they got a record deal. These little animated interstitials. And to me, that was one of the most, at least as a music head, that was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen because, you know, a lot of the favorites that we grow up with really aren't afforded much information, especially for like groups in the 70s and 80s. Like, you guys are giving the fair level playing field of your, you know, your peers that get access to mainstream press. So I knew nothing about the history of the band. And you guys were like rigorously honest about your beginnings. I didn't know that, you know, when we're talking about cool and the gang, that cool was like a leader of a gang.

You know, most bands I know start in church and all that stuff. So, well, first of all, where were you born? I assume that as Jersey City. I don't know. I could be wrong. Jersey City, New Jersey. Okay. That's where you were born.

Yes, sir. So you were first generation Northeast family. Most sole acts I know come from the south and then they migrate up north, but you were born in Jersey City. Born in Jersey City. Okay. So could you just give me a description of what Jersey City was like for you in your childhood, at least for those formative years before you started discovering your talent? You know, we're going back 150 years, you know.

So it's kind of hard for me to remember, you know. What you can remember. The blacksmith sharding north, the shoe, who's, you know, and the guy's pumping the water when there was a fire. Because it's so long ago. But, Stuga, he's in Jersey's in, he's in Hoboken. Jersey City's in Hoboken were very alike at that time. Jersey City being the second largest city in New Jersey, it was a basically, basically, basically a working class town, quiet working class town.

I got to put more respect on Jersey because I think, you know, I'm not a New Yorker, even though I've been here long enough to kind of claim it. I think I should be it for 20 years before I say I'm a New Yorker. But, you know, a lot of times, even as a Philadelphia, Jersey is just like over there, you know, from New York, Jersey is over there. The amount of talent that came out of Jersey City, And New Jersey is mind-boggling. You got Count Basie, just for one.

Like Sinatra, you know, Seyavon. This is Jersey City or just Jersey? This is just Jersey. But on the Jersey City, too, you got people like Nick Adams, Brenda Verkerro, Kooling the gang, Roy Hamilton. It just goes on and on. Roy Hamilton?

Roy Hamilton. Don't let go Roy Hamilton. Okay. Yeah. there's a plethora of talents that came out of Jersey City proper, the Dupreys, the spellbinders. Okay. Yeah, it goes, you know. I know those names.

And those, you know, like if you count Duke by himself, I mean, we wouldn't be playing anything if there was not for a Duke Ellington, you know, so it's amazing. No Frank Sinatra, you know, they came with it. How old were you when you discovered your talent for the drums? I think it discovered me. It discovered me because I tap on a table with spoons and forks. I just took it to the next level, just intuitively. I just took it and said, hey, you know, let me go take some lessons.

But mind you, we were so poor that... we could only afford a couple of lessons at $3 a lesson. So there was a gentleman named Joe. He used to play behind the sorrows. I went to him up on Newark Avenue in Jersey City. And he like, sit down here. It's a practice pad. All right, take these sticks.

Show me something. And it wasn't a man, it's a standard grip. Wasn't a match grip. And he said, hey, you're pretty much a natural. And second lesson, three bucks, and I got the Buddy Rich 60 essential rudiment book and took it from there. And from that point on, you know, it was like, by the time I reached 1314, I met Ronald Bell and Robert Mickens and Ricky Westfield. And we started the Jazzbirds because we're all deep into jazz at that time, which is a main foundation of cooling again. So John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Lee Morgan, Buddy Rich, you know, all the jazz greats at that time, you know, we were into.

And we'd sit and listen to all those jazz albums. So at the time, though, and assuming that this is the early 60s or mid-60s, you know, were you aware of the pop landscape or the soul landscape? We were totally aware of, you know, what was happening pop-wise and what was happening jazz-wise. Because we would do little straw ways and we'd have to play the music of the day. You know, nobody wanted to hear Bags Groove. They didn't want to hear that the kids. They wanted to hear the hunter gets captured by the games. Boom, boom, boom, bode, bon, all that stuff. So we knew that too.

Yeah, I was going to say that, you know, for our listeners that don't know that, you know, in the early period of jazz, which was more danceable, then this virtuoso phase starts where the music gets faster and it's more about the solos and kind of more about sit down and watch this play as opposed to like us being a wedding band or a jukebox per se. but, you know, every one of my heroes and idols in funk music that tells me about their beginnings in jazz, most of them sort of had a condescending attitude towards soul and pop music, but I know that you guys were younger, so you weren't, like, looking down on it because you guys were teenagers. But, I mean, how common was it for, and haven't heard, like, especially like the jazz chops on the first two records, you guys were still teenagers,

how common was it for teenagers to be that, to have that virtuoso level of musicianship during that time period? The kind words of being virtual also. It wasn't common at all. You know, what happened also was that we played almost nightly. And Newark would play at the, the blue note. In Newark, we'd play Tuesday through, Sunday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

And what we were playing was all the popular music at that time. And behind different artists. And Bayonne, New Jersey, pretty much the same at the Kenya Club. There are five, six acts that we play behind each evening. So we would be getting our pop chart, sharpening them, honing our skills, and loving jazz and learning, you know, all the bebop skills, and just hanging out that way. So that's how we grew.

You're working as clubs nightly and go to school. What's the rehearsal process like? Because, again, you guys were a tight unit and really intricate. So I assume that a lot of rehearsal went behind that. Like, what's the rehearsal schedules like? Well, a rehearsal for the pop groups was just, you know, they come up, they don't want their music done a certain way. And basically is really close to the record itself.

So we pulled that off and keep the arrangements exactly like they were for Motown or, you know, or the Atlantic sound for what we did as far as jazz was concerned. If we were going to play take five, we sit down and go through it or Milk Jackson's bags groove. The rehearsal process was easy flow. You know, Cleese would take out his horn, Spree Baba, Spree Bia, you know. And in that process also, we came up with our own music. Okay. You know, but we would listen to everyone on the scene, pop, jazz, funk, country.

And rehearsals were easy. It's just we come in and say, let's do this, and we get at it and come out. You were such a large, sizable unit. How are you guys managing, like, getting to gigs? Like, we live in the era now where, you know, there's a thing called a rider. And, you know, there are companies that you rent your equipment from. Pack them, stock them, unpack them, and stock them. Yeah.

Yeah. I don't see me. No, we brought in our own equipment. Right. We set it up. We've had our little rehearsal to see if everything was on par as far as it working. And we had no crew whatsoever. And even in the early days, the beginning, I think we had two guys, Donald Boyce, who became

the voice, the voice of Jungle Boogie. Yeah, I was going to say. And Bobby Sims. and those two guys were a riot, you know. So that was it. I mean, you know, now it's a whole different ball game. Right. You said you were still in school during this time?

We were going to school. As in high school? They were like 15, 16. We were going to school and working in their clothes. Oh, wow. That was key. What's your parents saying during this time? Were they just supported from the jump?

Or how did that work? We had our parents, all of our parents were very close to each other. And it's just like a gut feeling. Like they had the gut feeling. So did we. It was just these, all children are going to make it. And sure enough, I mean, of course. But we put that time in and they allowed us to do.

During that time, I was playing with other people up in the Catskills and, you know, playing blues. You know, with other artists. And so I just learned I used to play with a guy named, a gentleman named Duke Washington all over New York City. He played tennis saxophone player, you know. Electrified? Alexei saxophone. So he would say, listen, Papa, when I play,

but a da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. That means all the band members come to the stage, you know. Because he's from that era that we just got finished talking about. You know, the 12 years of big band and all that, you know, so you hear that. And me being young, I had to stay in a dressing room or outside in those cold New York nights are sitting in the car. Yeah, it was tough. But I think that's how you know, people horn their skills and you really show the intense,

the intensity of the love. that you have for the music. Even today we speak of the music, you know. Right. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered. with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the player. flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode.

Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, for wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And Rule 2, never mess with her friends either.

We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands.

I said, oh, hell no. I vowed I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam.

My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice. ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said,

if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Yeah. Listen to Thanks Dad on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault in Our

Stars. And now, I guess also is the co-host of the away a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game, and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End,

we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer... Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. and I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game.

I love its history, its hope, it's heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How did you avoid the kind of gang mentality that pretty much what it seems, like according to those shorts that everyone but your band somehow didn't avoid. In the early stages, we were always rehearsing. The gangs in the area, we avoided. We avoided.

We were practicing. And myself, I've even had physical fights with some of the gang members who came out of James Bird. in the like, you know, like, they've called it the King of Jamesburg, and he's back in the school yard taking over the school yard. You know, these are like major gang, but you see, in my life, I didn't care about anybody being a gang member. And if they stepped to me, I'm going to try to knock you out. And what happened was I got, I can go in school yard, nobody, not touching me.

This is before the martial arts when entered your life. That's crazy. Well, I'm a second-degree black belt martial arts. Second degree black belt. Yes, sir. Kuhl's gang is the leader of the gang. I forgot his name, Eagle. And I came downtown, and we got into altercation.

The same deal, because I'm from the midtown. I'm from Bergen-Lafir, what I did, and Kuh will tell the story. I took a bicycle. and beat him with a bicycle. Oh. That was it. Jesus Christ, the survival tactics.

That's what you got it. Bam. Yeah. A chair ain't got nothing on you. No more bothering George Brown. Wow. That's okay. I got the answer to that question.

I was expected that one. I don't even know what a double black belt is, but I'm, I'm impressed and scared at the same time. I don't want to find out either. So, you know. Be somebody with a bike. I don't think you're going to have no problems.

Yeah. How long was it before you guys solidified your deal with Delight Records? And if you can, I mean, I've heard a lot about, what's his name, Fred, Fred Vicaroto, the president? Fred Vigorito. Yeah. Fiotto, Gabe Vigorito. So once of all, can you, can you verify or not if, if, uh, they were the people you did not play with if you want to know.

With names like that, and I don't want to play in the, you know, monolith or stereotype, but were they, uh, at error. They were, friends of ours, you know. Actually, they were very, very sweet and good people. Because if they like what you were doing, They gave some type of reward for it. They made sure that things were safe. You spend time in the studio developing, and they heard it and saw it and knew the degree

of talent of the band. But it's just like the bicycle. They were the bicycle, if you know what I mean. Once we signed with them, they were the bicycle. Yeah, I'm going to ask, later about the origins of jungle boogie. They were trying to figure out. No, I got it. Oh, no, I got it.

I just wondered if they were the bicycle in business, too, like, were they fair to you guys at the end of the day. They were the bicycle in business as well. Okay. I'm only asking that because Robert tells this this crazy story of how

how he puts it about how you guys were, quote unquote, forced to come up with jungle boogie sort of against your will oh yeah it was it was like force it was mental block time mental block time for creating music so are you tell me that your version of the story yeah it's gonna it's gonna mesh with his okay so uh we went up to uh the office of the attorney day he's like the number one attorney for the entertainment business in the world. I'm not going to mention his name, right? Okay. So Dennis, myself, Kalee and Kuhl went up to see him. And I can say

what he said, though. He said, listen, guys, we need some effing hits. He said, I don't care how much genius you are and how many instruments you play. And he looked at it. He looked at his watch, she was probably a Patrick Philippe, and said, my wife's waiting for me at the airport, goodbye. And we, he walked out. So Dennis went one way, Ronald, cool and myself were walking together and said, we got to come up with something. And sure enough, going into Baggy's, it's not, I'm quite sure it's not the, Baggy's rehearsal studio in New York on like the 30s on the west side. And we started coming up with this music, Hollywood Swinging, was one, where Ricky Westfield came in. He said the idea.

Then we were over at Holoquin, which is a 40, another rehearsal studio, like 45th Street upstairs over Howard Johnson's, right? Really cheap studio. Oh, in Manhattan? In Manhattan. Yeah. Where SIR used to be. Okay. I see.

I know that is. Yeah. And we came up with Jungle Boogie. We were playing it. Kalees, it was, we had jungle something. But it was Dennis Thomas that came in. And when he heard the track, we said, we're calling it Jungle Jim, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he said, no, man, people are booge in.

Let's call it Jungle Boogie. Right? Bingo. Done. Wrapped up. That's the story. Can you verify that, well, kind of what Ronald told me was basically that, that the heads of delight were sort of like mesmerized by, you know,

what was slowly morphing into New York dance night culture. Yeah. And they heard Sol McCosa, of which, you know, I guess either they acquired a copy and was basically like, we won our version of this song. And you guys were like, no, we were serious musicians. We're not playing this mumbo-jumbo. Absolutely. No, we love Soul Macusa, too.

Mamma-Cola. We love it as well. They were going to bring in other producers. And Kalisa and I said, no, they're not. And we went and did. We got funky stuff out of it and all that day. So we got Hollywood Springle, Jungle Boogie, and funky stuff all in one package. So you can't beat that.

Khalif Gamble was just telling me, because he follows you guys with video, he's a videographer. And he was saying that the rooms that he's seen you guys change with Jungle Boogie, I'm talking about the whitest, most southern, like, it just breaks. That's the one song that just changes everything. Yeah, yeah, it changes a lot. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

That's especially because it's called Jungle Boogie. I just think the irony in it is kind of. Well, you know, it's primitive exotic. It's got jazz. It's got the ground rhythms that I was playing and Cool was playing. And, you know, and you got that, the horns playing. contrary motion, and you got to have to go down the other way. You know, that's in jazz, but you hear that a lot of classical music.

When the strings are going one way, and then you hear the cellul's going down, the whole different, it just opens it up, you know, and then you got a guy going, you know, which was novel. That also made that record what it was, you know, what it is. still today. So can you also settle a question I'm dying to ask you guys or someone from the organization?

I mean, yeah, one could say that because all the albums were made at the same studio, of course they sound similar. But were, at least for that first album, the Keep on Bumpin album, were you guys really the KGs? No. So the KGs were their own self-reacted.

contain unit and their home self-contained unit what happened was calise was producing them so you're going to get you're going to get a little bit of cool to gang sound uh with us we we've changed studios we were at the house of music in jersey uh the first records were done across street from studio 54 the Beatles recorded there dion warwick burrbacker everybody recorded there okay so you know we did mix studios. But keep on bumping, you got to keep on bumping, yeah. Yeah. Right. That was all done by

with Amir. Amir Beyond. Amir Bayan. Amir Bayan, yeah. Is he a bell as well? Is he related to the bells? They're brothers. Yeah, were all of you Muslim or just the

just between Ronald and Ronald, Ronald, cool, Amir, Carter Smith. Okay. Well, we're Muslim. But that didn't get in the way. When we did our prayer circle at night, I mean, before the concert, it didn't matter if you were saying, you know, hum to Allah or praise God.

It didn't matter, you know, because we were going out to do the thing and make people happy. And we all understand that God is God. We should probably mention when we're talking about Ronald, and you call him Khalis. I call him Khalis. I just want to know for the people who are watching and listening. That's what we talked about. Well, back in there, I'd call them both. Calais, Ronald, Ronald, Bill, you know, Ronnie, you know.

But all that faded away when we got ready to pray and go ready, get ready to get on stage. It didn't affect. It didn't affect who and what we were because, you know, Kalees and cool and child or develop psychologically enough to understand that you know, there's only one God and God is God. Different names.

What we call him. Right, water is water. Maurice White shares a story about three last days in time, Earth, Wind and Fire. Maybe pre-head to the sky, Earth, Wind and Fire. You know, occasionally they would meet, like, in different audiences. that weren't familiar with them and either get a cold reception or, you know, just get outright booed or whatnot.

Maurice White tells these stories of like coming to Philadelphia and, you know, literally getting the worst treatment from the audiences. But are you guys meeting at all, like any sort of indifference or like, how are you guys handling different territories that's outside of your tri-state area comfort zone? well you know at that point we would play what the music of that time so it was accepted because we were playing what the people wanted to hear in a VFW lodge that we were playing you know or some high school homecoming so we we just like the old age people say, look out and see what the audience looks at, you know, and you know exactly where they go. So that's what we did, you know, we played what they wanted to hear. We wouldn't force anything on the people, you know, if it's, God, if it's temptations or, you know, if it was the OJs, or they're going to, that's what they're going to get, because we know, we know how to work an audience.

don't mean that in a derogative way. And still today we know how to work with an audience because we go out, we look and say in a roadbagger, hey, take that out of there. Take this song out, take this song out. It'll give a law, right? Or we're working with

an orchestra, then we'll say, well, let's put this in because it'll keep it, it gives it that the feel. It gives it the tone. It gives it the tone of where we're coming from. So we'll add something that's jazzy. So it's always been like that. The only time we got like who these guys is we were in East Germany and the album, but it was all these dance remixes.

That's what they were hearing on radio. That's what they were used to. So when we got up to play, they were like, huh? They were used to the right, the whole of the dancer. That was it. And so that felt awkward and bad. But I presume today the same people they've caught up. But that was it.

That was the only time. Full disclosure, I'm going to just speak for all the folks. Depending on how old you are, you have a dummy moment with cooling the game. I feel like people who were maybe my generation, like, 80s, 90s babies, it's a moment when you heard summer madness and you were like, oh, you know, I mean, yeah. Can I relate a story about summer madness? Yes, yes. We had our jungle boogie and, of course, that went up charts and so we put our spirit of the boogie and it's in summer.

And I think we're in Illinois. So a disc jockey turned it over because it was a B-side. It was the B-South of Spirit of the Boogie. He turned it over, and the rest is history. I mean, we had two songs going up the charts together. That's unusual, you know, especially then. Was it shocking that something that mellow kind of caught on? Absolutely.

We were like, okay, with the two chords. Right. It was shocking. The two chords and the wonderful, Calice's wonderful solo. I have another question about Summer Men. Madness. Did you guys feel any sort of way about Bill Conti's score of Rocky because there is, there's a song on that soundtrack called Reflections, which is, is damn near a summer madness. Well, I believe in the movie, he runs and works out to Summer Madness,

but when you buy the soundtrack, he does. Right. But when you buy the soundtrack, there's a song called Reflections, which is basically Summer Madness, just half a chord off. Like the way that we write songs at the Tonight Show or the way that I believe that the barcais wrote their songs, which basically put a song on and get a derivative, just like that song,

and change one little part so that you don't get sued or whatever. But it's so... Those all does. The barcares are like that. But you're talking about what goes to his room, He put so in that little single. Right. It's a bit, you know, summer madness, you know, but.

But did you guys feel so away, like, were he even aware that Bill Conti had made his version of summer madness on that rocky soundtrack at all? You know, I don't think we were aware, but we, cooling the gang has always been this real high spiritual group. And we really are. And if somebody does something, we don't say, we don't get. get litigious and say, okay, we're going to sue this person. As the years of going by, we've been rewarded and awarded with so many different, we haven't gotten an Oscar yet, but I know that that's coming and the Hall of Fame is coming. And so the Kennedy Awards and the, what is it, is it, Rogers and Hammerstein or one of those. It's coming. It is. So we don't,

We've never been the type to, excuse my friends, the bitch that we didn't have this and this one got that. We just move on. Let's write some music. And it's still like that. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest.

The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galko, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects, from hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist.

I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell.

Woo-woo, whoo, who, who, who. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up-and-coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved.

And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck.

Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars, and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over. 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history,

its hope, it's heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I always wanted to know, at least the first three records were produced by Gene Red. I assume that Gene was a house producer of Motown. Okay, of Motown, and he came over to the light later. What was Gene like as a producer? Because later, you guys started producing yourselves, but what was those first initial years like?

Gene was a bona fide genius down to the sound. of the band and bell sound that's where we recorded because that was the studio that's where everybody recorded the Beatles at the time and back then the studios were so stark looking today's studios are groovy with the light but we the board then had the big pan pots you know but jean play piano his father played for cootty williams so he did have a big great musical background

Gene was the producer and Cool Jerk. Oh, really? Oh, wow. He produced and had written a number of things. Him and George Clinton. George Clinton came out of Motown as well. There were Motown writers. I'm just finding out that he's also father of Penny Ford of Snap and Sharon Redd.

Sharon Redd. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, I know that Sharon Red and Penny Ford are sisters or half-sisters, that sort. to think so and sharon was an actress big time she was in hair back in the day you know with jean it was he wanted a new sound and we had that jazzy sound uh and we'd go at rehearsal he'd go and manipulate the amps you know you know the tones and things how it should sound and uh even with me even some of the brakes he would say now george it is simple you He went, brab-dub-da.

That's all I want there. And live it alone. Get the floor time. You got that floor time resonating. And he came up with the idea before the Jackson's, when there was a program with, was the Alice who said it was Seoul. Okay. One of the early black programs.

And he had us, he had the filters, I guess you can call it, of Koologygans. Saturday cartoon show back then. Really? Really? It's a brilliant guy. Yeah, back then. I think the show was called Seoul.

Okay. Yeah. Wow, I never knew that. In black and white, all that, all that good stuff, right? The stage was so small, they had to put me on the side.

You know, as I said, the top of the show, what's really notable about you guys is the metamorphosis of the group, you know, starting off jazz, adding more soul to it. And then, you know, and to this day, like, as a Soul Train historian, I credit you guys' second appearance on Soul Train as a pivotal moment of that show.

It's the moment where even Don Cornelius admits to you guys that he never heard Jungle Boogie. Like, he basically said that, you know, he got the 45 the day before. and he heard funky stuff and thought that nothing ever is going to top funky stuff, so I don't need to listen to the B-side. And you guys do Jungle Booky, and I noticed, as someone who studied every episode of that show,

you know, the first three and a half years of that show was really sort of riding off the coattails of Don's connects in Chicago and, you know, the middle of America. So like a lot of Curtis, a lot of, you know,

like Chicago, era groups. Some of them like older and what makes it notable when you guys come on the show the second time and you do funky stuff and you do jungle boogie.

It's as if the kids finally see themselves because there's a group that's their age or younger than them playing a different type of music that's not really based on Motown or based on James Brown. It's like it's clearly like a

a marking of new territory and an introduction of funk. And the way they're dancing is like their life depends on it. Like, I wish I had a song to compare it to now. Like, if you put the song on the moment now and the audience just goes crazy. But what is it like or how jarring is it to adjust to different genres? Because, you know, jumping from funk to disco was such a hard adjustment. And you guys caught a lot of flack. I was raised by uncles that was like,

well, I remember my air, cool, and you can't, you know, whatever. So can you talk about what it's like to either sink or swim in a time period in which a lot of your contemporaries are not trying to swim and they're sinking? And you guys are like, nope, we got to go on and move. So can you talk about the period, at least the everybody's dancing right before celebration that disco period you guys had to go through? Well, we've always been eclectic. You listen to the music and it's thread over the years.

You say, well, they're not following the scheme of what most artists do. The album's all sound the same. Everything sounds the same. We were in London, Kaleez and I, and we had an interview, and he said, You guys got cahonies. And we said, what are you talking about? He said, you don't stay in one niche. You're like, do this, you do that.

And he said, most artists, they want to save their careers. And they're saving that one niche. We've always played what we felt like playing. We always wrote what we felt like writing. So in those transitional periods, it didn't affect us. It maybe affected the light records because the sales weren't there. But it didn't affect us in regards to, because we weren't making that much money anyway. So we just were down in the trenches trying to make it work and putting things together.

But we've always written different styles of music. So coming from that soul R&B era, it didn't affect us. Okay. You know, we got JT, pulled him along. and just started writing songs for a vocalist. And bingo, it worked. Hey, Questlove Supreme listeners. This is Sugar Steve.

We don't like to do this, but we're stopping the episode right there. Please come back next week or look in your podcast for you for part two of our interview with Funky George Brown of Cool The Gang. In Part 2, he talks about some of the band's hits of the 80s, his new memoir, Cool in The Gang, and Me, and Much, Much More. Oh, and make sure you check out Cooling Gang. new album. People just want to have fun. It's made by George and another QLS guest, Ronald Cool Bell,

with the rest of the gang. See you next time. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football,

journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for, to the biggest mistakes franchises make,

to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I bowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. you get your podcast. Everyone, I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.

My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah. It would not be.

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far. But I'm John Green. Co-host at the podcast The Away End with my old friend Daniel.

On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.