Harry Wayne Casey
Encyclopedia
Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey (born January 31, 1951) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is most famous for his group, KC and the Sunshine Band
, and as a producer of several hits for other artists.
, to an Irish-American father and an Italian-American mother, Casey became interested in music at an early age. As a teenager he played and sang with several local bands and played piano at the Pentecostal church his family attended. He also attended Hialeah High School
in Hialeah, Florida, that is where Casey further developed his music talent. He studied music at Miami-Dade Community College and worked part-time in a record store. KC noticed that often customers would come in not remembering the titles of the records they wanted, and the store would lose the sale — this is the reason so many of his songs repeat their titles over and over.
While working at the record store, Casey often made deliveries to the headquarters of TK Records
in Hialeah, and spent so much time visiting the studio that he was eventually hired to work in the warehouse. On August 12, 1973, Casey signed a contract with TK and formed KC and the Sunshine Junkanoo
Band, using other recording artists at the studio for backgrounds and instrumentation. The Miami Junkanoo Band was a local group brought in to perform on the record. Casey played electric piano and sang lead with the group. As the second single, "Sound Your Funky Horn", was released, the group's name was finalized as KC and the Sunshine Band. Casey brought in Rick Finch's musical talents and their production team (also the only white members of the group) was initiated. In 1974, they had their first Number One hit as songwriters with George McCrae
's "Rock Your Baby." Casey and Finch also wrote and produced songs for Betty Wright
and Jimmy "Bo" Horne.
had some success in the UK in 1974 with "Queen of Clubs," then broke big in the United States in 1975 with "Get Down Tonight
" and "That's the Way (I Like It)
." Other Casey-Finch favorites include "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty
," "I'm Your Boogie Man
," "Keep It Comin' Love
" and "Please Don't Go." "Boogie Shoes
" appeared on the soundtrack album for Saturday Night Fever
. He also joined Teri DeSario
on her hit "Yes, I'm Ready
" in 1979.
As a result of the soaring popularity of New Wave
and Synthpop
in the early 1980s, Casey dissolved the Sunshine Band and recorded several pop-oriented solo albums. In January 1982, he survived a serious car accident - the car he was driving was hit head-on. He was left partially paralyzed for six months, and had to re-learn how to walk, dance, and play the piano, but by the end of the year he was back in the recording studio. "Give It Up
", was released as a solo hit, shot to Number One in the UK and was a Top 20 hit in the United States (1984). But musical tastes had changed, and Casey retired (temporarily) from the music business in 1985.
In the mid-1990s, due to the revived interest in the music and fashions of the 1970s, Casey re-formed the Sunshine Band. He plays up to 200 dates a year throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and has also toured England
, Italy
, Australia
and South America
. He also continues to produce other artists and is active in charity work in his native Miami.
Casey also performed on the results show of American Idol
, season 8, on April 22, 2009.
KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group. Founded in 1973 in Miami, Florida, their style has included funk, R&B, and disco. Their most well known songs include the disco hits "That's the Way ", " Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Give...
, and as a producer of several hits for other artists.
Early years
Born in Opa-Locka, FloridaOpa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
, to an Irish-American father and an Italian-American mother, Casey became interested in music at an early age. As a teenager he played and sang with several local bands and played piano at the Pentecostal church his family attended. He also attended Hialeah High School
Hialeah High School
Hialeah High School is a secondary school located at 251 E 47th Street in Hialeah, Florida, USA.-History:Hialeah High School opened its doors to students and staff in 1953 to serve the growing communities of Northwestern Miami-Dade County. It is one of the oldest secondary schools in the county,...
in Hialeah, Florida, that is where Casey further developed his music talent. He studied music at Miami-Dade Community College and worked part-time in a record store. KC noticed that often customers would come in not remembering the titles of the records they wanted, and the store would lose the sale — this is the reason so many of his songs repeat their titles over and over.
While working at the record store, Casey often made deliveries to the headquarters of TK Records
TK Records
TK Records was an American record label started by record distributor, Henry Stone in Miami, Florida, one of several labels that he founded in the 1960s and 1970s...
in Hialeah, and spent so much time visiting the studio that he was eventually hired to work in the warehouse. On August 12, 1973, Casey signed a contract with TK and formed KC and the Sunshine Junkanoo
Junkanoo
Junkanoo is a street parade with music, which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands every Boxing Day , New Year's Day and, more recently, in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital...
Band, using other recording artists at the studio for backgrounds and instrumentation. The Miami Junkanoo Band was a local group brought in to perform on the record. Casey played electric piano and sang lead with the group. As the second single, "Sound Your Funky Horn", was released, the group's name was finalized as KC and the Sunshine Band. Casey brought in Rick Finch's musical talents and their production team (also the only white members of the group) was initiated. In 1974, they had their first Number One hit as songwriters with George McCrae
George McCrae
George McCrae is an American soul and disco singer, most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby".-Early life and career:...
's "Rock Your Baby." Casey and Finch also wrote and produced songs for Betty Wright
Betty Wright
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name, Betty Wright , is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night"...
and Jimmy "Bo" Horne.
Musical career
The re-named KC and the Sunshine BandKC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group. Founded in 1973 in Miami, Florida, their style has included funk, R&B, and disco. Their most well known songs include the disco hits "That's the Way ", " Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Give...
had some success in the UK in 1974 with "Queen of Clubs," then broke big in the United States in 1975 with "Get Down Tonight
Get Down Tonight
"Get Down Tonight" is a song released in 1975 on the eponymous album by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The song became widely successful, becoming the first of their five number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
" and "That's the Way (I Like It)
That's the Way (I Like It)
"That's the Way " is a song written by H.W. Casey and Richard Finch, and recorded and released in 1975 by KC and the Sunshine Band for their eponymous second album...
." Other Casey-Finch favorites include "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty
(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty
" Shake Your Booty" is a song recorded and released in 1976 by KC and the Sunshine Band for the album Part 3. The song became their third number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as their third number-one on the soul singles chart. The song was met with a degree of controversy, since the...
," "I'm Your Boogie Man
I'm Your Boogie Man
"I'm Your Boogie Man" is a popular song by KC and the Sunshine Band from their 1976 album Part 3. Richard Finch told Songfacts that this was written about a DJ at a Miami, Florida radio station called Robert W. Walker, who was the first to give their hit single "Get Down Tonight" airplay. In 1977...
," "Keep It Comin' Love
Keep It Comin' Love
"Keep It Comin' Love" is a 1977 disco song recorded by KC and the Sunshine Band. It appeared on their 1977 album Part 3. The song, like its predecessor "That's the Way ", became widely successful due to its sexual double entendres...
" and "Please Don't Go." "Boogie Shoes
Boogie Shoes
"Boogie Shoes" is a popular song released in 1975 on the self-titled album KC and the Sunshine Band by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The song became a hit when it appeared on the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack in 1977. The song is still heard on radio stations today as a disco-era staple...
" appeared on the soundtrack album for Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)
Original Vinyl ReleaseSide A:#"Stayin' Alive" performed by Bee Gees, produced by Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson – 4:45#"How Deep Is Your Love" performed by Bee Gees, produced by Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson – 4:05...
. He also joined Teri DeSario
Teri DeSario
Teri DeSario is a singer/songwriter from Miami, Florida. DeSario worked within several music genres out of high school. She was vocalist, played recorder and harp from 1970 - 1977 with a Medieval and Renaissance music group, the Early Music Consort, headed by scholar and Pro Musica member Arnold...
on her hit "Yes, I'm Ready
Yes, I'm Ready
"Yes, I'm Ready" is the title of a popular song that was written and originally recorded by Barbara Mason in 1965. It has been covered by numerous artists, most notably as a duet by Teri DeSario and K.C. in 1979.-Barbara Mason:...
" in 1979.
As a result of the soaring popularity of New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and Synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
in the early 1980s, Casey dissolved the Sunshine Band and recorded several pop-oriented solo albums. In January 1982, he survived a serious car accident - the car he was driving was hit head-on. He was left partially paralyzed for six months, and had to re-learn how to walk, dance, and play the piano, but by the end of the year he was back in the recording studio. "Give It Up
Give It Up (KC song)
"Give It Up" was a hit song for KC and the Sunshine Band, although it was simply credited as KC in many countries, including the US. Following the backlash against many disco artists on the charts at the beginning of the 1980s, the song was a comeback hit for the act in the US, where it peaked at...
", was released as a solo hit, shot to Number One in the UK and was a Top 20 hit in the United States (1984). But musical tastes had changed, and Casey retired (temporarily) from the music business in 1985.
In the mid-1990s, due to the revived interest in the music and fashions of the 1970s, Casey re-formed the Sunshine Band. He plays up to 200 dates a year throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and has also toured England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. He also continues to produce other artists and is active in charity work in his native Miami.
Casey also performed on the results show of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, season 8, on April 22, 2009.
Discography
- Do It GoodDo It GoodDo It Good was the debut album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album had little mainstream impact in the United States, despite catchy tracks like "Sound Your Funky Horn". The album was focused towards an upbeat funk - which would later turn into disco.After the song...
(1974) - KC and the Sunshine BandKC and the Sunshine Band (album)KC and the Sunshine Band is the second studio album of the hugely successful disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album contained three major hit songs—"That's the Way ", "Get Down Tonight", and "Boogie Shoes"....
(1975) - The Sound of SunshineThe Sound of SunshineThe Sound of Sunshine was the third studio album by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band, originally released in 1975 on the TK label, credited only to the Sunshine Band. An instrumental album, singer Harry Wayne Casey - "KC" - did not feature as a vocalist, though he co-produced it with...
(1975) - Part 3Part 3Part 3 was the fourth album released by KC and the Sunshine Band. The album contains the singles "I'm Your Boogie Man" and " Shake Your Booty".This album was re-released in 1994 by Rhino as Part 3 ...And More...
(1976) - Who Do Ya LoveWho Do Ya LoveWho Do Ya was the fifth studio album released by KC and the Sunshine Band, released in 1978. The album was released in the heat of the disco fever, but achieved little success compared to other albums by the group.-Track listing:...
(1978) - Do You Wanna Go PartyDo You Wanna Go PartyDo You Wanna Go Party was the sixth album by KC and the Sunshine Band, released in 1979. The album was released with tracks representing more of a disco flavor than ever before, with the catchy and successful title track "Do You Wanna Go Party"...
(1979) - Space CadetSpace Cadet (album)Space Cadet: Solo Flight was the seventh album released in 1981 by KC and the Sunshine Band. The album generated fairly little success, as the band turned to more pop-focused music.-Track listing:#"Space Cadet" - 3:55#"Red Light" - 4:07...
(1981) - The PainterThe PainterThe Painter is the eighth studio album released in 1981 by KC and the Sunshine Band. The album, like its predecessor, generated fairly little success, as the band turned to a more pop-focused music. A notable track on this album is the ballad, All Through The Night.This song co-written by Donna...
(1981) - All in a Night's WorkAll in a Night's WorkAll in a Night's Work is the ninth studio album released in 1982 by KC and the Sunshine Band. The album sparked a brief return to success for the band, including the hit track "Give It Up" which became a radio staple in Britain, but failed to make an impact in the United States, until it would be...
(1982) - KC TenKC TenKC Ten is the tenth studio album released in early 1984 by KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was co-produced by Harry Casey, Miami-based producer/musician/songwriter/media personality Robert W. Walker, and Ron Taylor...
(1983) - Oh Yeah!Oh Yeah!Oh Yeah! is an album released in 1993 by KC and the Sunshine Band. This was the first album by the band since 1984, when the band split. Despite this, the album was unsuccessful, and failed to chart.-Track listing:...
(1993) - I'll Be There For YouI'll Be There for You (album)I'll Be There For You was an album released in 2001 by KC and the Sunshine Band. The album came out following an 8-year gap since their last studio album.-Track listing:#"When I Close My Eyes" – 4:14#"Higher Love" – 3:44...
(2001) - Yummy (2007)
Selected compilations
- Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1980) (compilation)
- The Best of KC and the Sunshine BandThe Best of KC and the Sunshine BandThe Best of KC and the Sunshine Band was a compilation album by KC & The Sunshine Band, first released in 1990. The album contained hits from 1974-1979 including every track included in their 1980 Greatest Hits compilation , along with their top 20 1983 hit "Give It Up" and other...
(1990) (compilation) - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1990) (compilation)
- KC and the Sunshine Band...and More (1994)
- Part 3...and More (1995)
- Get Down Live!Get Down Live!Get Down Live! was the first live album by KC and the Sunshine Band, released in 1995.-Track listing:#"Opening " – :20#"Give It Up" – 3:53#"Shake Your Booty" Get Down Live! was the first live album by KC and the Sunshine Band, released in 1995.-Track listing:#"Opening ("KC, KC, KC")" (A. Lopez,...
(1995) (live) - Shake, Shake, Shake and Other Hits (1997)
- I'm Your Boogie Man and Other Hits (1997)
- Live: Get Down Tonight (1998) (live)