September 22, 2021 • 82 mins
This week's episode of Questlove Supreme takes you into the minds of one of the most genius, transformative and successful bands of all time, Kool and the Gang. Robert "Kool" Bell joins Quest and Team Supreme to chronicle the story of the band that crossed multiple genres, leading to a constant reinvigoration of their music through some of the biggest Hip Hop hits ever! Yes hits on top of hits on top of....Needless to say, it's flower time!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Shall we start, Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to another episode
of Quest Love Supreme. I'm your host quest Love Jenkins. Uh,
you got the Supreme family, fresh off of our fifth anniversary,
fresh from the Met Gala.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
What's up on pay Bill?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I'm just saying I was just taking off my alpha
from met Gala. Everything's good. It was good, it was fun.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
What did you do at Wow?
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, I was. I was Kim's uh uh you know Date,
I was black a second actually was Can you imagine that.
Speaker 5 (00:49):
Was the.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Dude you work with muppets all day?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Of course I can imagine that you could have just
borrowed an outfit that's much more American than the than
the Muppets.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I will say I've had some great Halloween costumes care
of the costume department at Sesame Street.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I was I was going to say, are you allowed
to borrow like extra costumes if you return it.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'm not sure if the loudest correct word, but yes,
I have procure pure.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Duck like a spare big bird offset.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I have not snuck puppets offset that would give me, like,
you know, jail time. But I have stolen other people's costumes.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
For sure. Yeah, we got we gotta reinterview you one day, Bill, Yeah,
for real.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Hey, you know I am a book of open knowledge.
What I'm a open book. That's fine, that's fine, That's
that's fine with me. I'm ready to talk at any time.
You tell me what talk, I'll go, Suger Steve, Yes,
you have you found Have you found God?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yet?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Not exactly, But I am working on the greatest audio
book right now.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
To tell Steve.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Look, okay, I went overboard in the pandemic. I wrote
to books and it's held. Steve is losing his hair
right now because the book is like thirty chapters.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
What hair? Oh wow?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I mean you know I had nothing to do.
I was doing Summer Soul on the day, be born
on the farm. At night, you start journaling and somehow
got turned into a thirty chapter book or whatever.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You live the dream right up. You should break that
joint up.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
You should break that joint up into an audio book,
into thirty second snippets and put that shit on Spotify
and bring your numbers up.
Speaker 6 (02:27):
Yeah, you just got marketed that that Yes, that's why
we wish we paid Fronte the big bucks that.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
See he's wearing his glasses today.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
I got my stringle bell glasses. He's smart, smart tage
run around my company all day.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Right yeah, and with the with the special auburn.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I think that's I don't know if it's my red
light or you're special.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Real family to me because as family, you all don't
recognize I got my hair done until two months later.
That is tofo me or thank you. We are family.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It is that shows you that we're we're real guys
because guys don't recognize.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
We don't notice none.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We notice if you cut it, like if you cut it,
I'll notice you cut your hair.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
But a new style too.
Speaker 5 (03:15):
Much cool saying this is what can I just say
before we get into it. I just wanted to also
big up to LA because we've got a big decision
to make today. I know this is gonna come out later,
but some new some newsometime crazy mess.
Speaker 7 (03:25):
Got time.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I have faith. I'm also running for governor of California.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
The list is long enough.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Hey man, you know, look about our guest today.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Without any doubt in my mind, I believe that our
guest is the founding member of the first Hip hop
band wow, meaning a unit without a direct leader. You know, no,
no disrespect to the James Brown Empire and whatnot. And
(03:57):
even though technically Virginia's own Winston's They're They're a classic single,
Amen brother, that interpolation of you know, Curtis Mayfield's Uh
We're a Winner, which weird enough they never got litigious on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
But I don't want to open up any can of
worms with that.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Even though that's been sampled five thousand plus times, making
that the most sampled single. I'll say that our guest
today holds as leader of this band, holds the dubious
honor of having the most sampled catalog by a band.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
In music.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
And I'm not saying hip hop because that's that's limiting it.
Like throughout music, pop artists have sampled cool and so yeah,
and you know this dame like Summer Madness has been
used billions of times.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Uh in t no title. People don't know that NT
stands for no title.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Name them jungle boogie, give it up, Hollywood Swinging, Uh,
Winter Sadness, Sport with Lightning ride, dungle jazz.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Uh So what was what was? What was a ho
happy Jackie with Oh Little Children? Oh Little Children exactly
all the others like over.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I believe the precise numbers eighteen hundred samples over songs
that have either sold gazillion.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Triple or or just been declared classic.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
But to me, what's more, probably more incredible about the
legacy of Cooling Gang, is probably their ability to check
the forecast and adjust accordingly throughout the decades, be it
like the their their jazz soul instrumental heavy beginnings, with
those like the self titled record and the two live
(05:36):
albums that came after it, more soul Yeah, Live at
Pj's and Sex Machine, the soul oriented stuff like Music
and Message and Good Times, or their funk masterpiece Wild
and Peaceful Light of the World, Spirit of the Bookie.
Those records probably one of the finest disco jazz. I'm sorry,
(05:56):
here's a new word. I just figured out an unpaid
bill was not a new word. I did not know
what a porna mental was. Oh, the combination of they
call it dazz music disco jazz anyway and in the
open Sesame record, and also their growth into adulthood with
Celebrate and Ladies' Night, and you know their pop success Joanna.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Yes in the heart.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Johanna's album as one Something Special The Emergency Record was
like one of their biggest selling albums.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
UH to this day hashtag to this day.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
UH.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
This band continues to still operate and their sound is
around forever, be it samples or seeing them a real
deal live.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
They still make records and they continue to brighten our lives.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And this is a long overdue, overdue episode of US Love. Yes,
Basim and gentlemen, please welcome the namesake of one of
the greatest bands in music, Robert cool.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Bell Coolni Gang. Yes, indeed, how are you? How are
you doing today?
Speaker 7 (07:02):
I'm doing fine. Quest his story when it comes to
cool a guy.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Well, you guys, maybe you know, I'm just glad to
be in great company. And you know, you guys literally
have have written the blueprint that you know we are
still following.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
And you know, it's hard to do that.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Like oftentimes when people look at the story of groups
and bands that have been around since the sixties and
the seventies, there's a point in the eighties in which
you kind of have to make life decisions on do
you go with the flow, do you fight it, do
you sabotage it? And you guys probably I'll say that,
(07:46):
of course, the story of the Jackson's is exemplary. But
you know, you guys, along with the Pointer sisters, along
with Lionel Richie, like, the transition from making it to
the seventies to the eighties was a very hard one
that most people they make it, yeah, they they take
it for granted. Like a lot of those you know
that we loved, they found they found some sort of uh,
(08:08):
sustaining power via the power of sampling. But you know,
there was a period in the eighties in which a
lot of those bands didn't make it.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
You guys found a way to.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Really adjust and the silence, as we say, silence to
the haters that might have had disdain because every record
didn't sound like jungle boogie whatnot. But I mean, I
I personally love in hindsight, how you guys have done that.
And you know, as a member of a black band
that's almost going on in the third decade, I mean,
it's it's exemplar. Thank you, thank you very much on
(08:39):
full exemplary. You know, I also want to note yesterday
I got in the mail your I love your also
your fora into the spirit.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Speaking of the spirit, of the boogie the spirit world.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
You have your own champagne called lay cool I like,
and I'm holding it even though they can't see it
at home. I'm showing you guys right now that you
know Robert cool Bell has its own When did you
When did.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You get into actually a mirror?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
But uh, when did you When did you first start
your kind of your foray into the world of.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
A fine drink?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Well, I mean what happened was I was on tour
about three or four years now from Mota.
Speaker 7 (09:28):
He came up to me.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
He said, listen, you know we had it was in
fast and we had about twenty days seven sold out.
Speaker 7 (09:35):
And we're got ready to do it tour.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Of course, said to me, listen, I'm doing a champagne
with the late Berry White and the Erry White look
alike and also one of the BG's.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
At the time there was a very white lookalike touring
in Europe.
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Yeah, they had a bit looks like you were doing
Suffer club dates.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Wow, okay, I wasn't ready for that one.
Speaker 7 (10:04):
He asked me.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Uh he said, uh uh, would you like to sell
champagne on your tour and come up with your own champagne?
I said, well, listen, then, I don't think that my
fans we want to take a bottle of champagne after
my show. They want the T shirts and caps and
stuff like that. So I said, listen, I want to
(10:28):
get on the shelves. He said, oh, I said, yeah,
I want you on the shelves.
Speaker 7 (10:33):
I ain't talking about no tour, no promo item.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
With this idea and concept with the leg Who Champagne
and up in the Rims where they make Don Peril
on Crystal, all the big boys up there. You know,
we end up cutting the deal with the Burchelo family
and we worked on this for about a year and
a half. I went to the Cool Champagne and I
wanted to have that surprise element like coming to America.
Speaker 7 (11:04):
Eddie Murphy that.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
America, And that's how I got started with that several
years ago. The one the most successful, but we got
hipopandemic and everything else.
Speaker 7 (11:19):
So but that's kind of how it happened.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I'm feeling that I'm feeling that you know that that's
that's that's a hard world to break into. So you know,
I'm glad that you found a way to get into it,
because you know it's it's uh, this looks it's a
classic package here.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I'm definitely send you a bottle uh on pay Bill.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I always wonder, yeah, the fact that how this country
boy from Oxtown, Ohio break into the cocktail?
Speaker 1 (11:50):
How did you get you know something?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I got to say that on on your on the
official Cool and Gang Instagram page, those those little animated
vignettes that you guys were doing telling the history of
the group. It's probably one of the best surprises I've
ever seen, because I mean, I've heard the story of
the group, but to visually see that, it's it's a
(12:14):
wonder that you guys even made it to even form
a band, like not even to get to this point
where you are as as as legacy, but just what
you guys had to go through just to form a band.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
For our listeners that have not heard or seen.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
First of all, I recommend that you guys followed Cool
in the Gang and look for these like.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Minute long bits on the one and.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
So on YouTube is Yeah, Well, one I want to know,
are you guys going to continue that series to tell
the story of the band that in that manner? Because
I love it, But can you tell us basically your
beginnings from where you were born to to what brought
you to Jersey to even form the.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Yeah, that's the first. Yeah, we want to continue that.
We stopped, uh where where you see right now? Of
course I want my brother, but a lot of stuff
around myself and also you know, and then we lost
d T. That was you know, another part of it.
(13:21):
But let me go back Yoxtown, Ohio. We started off
as the Jazzy Acts. Yes, the name was changed to
the Soultown Band. It was the organization in Jersey City.
It was trying to be like Motown and we became
the band. So we would have to learn all these
Motown hits and records, and we had about fifteen people
(13:45):
on the show and we had to learn all these songs.
So we got out of there from the Soultown Band
and we came up with Cooling the Flames. Now, our
first manager, father was working with James Brown, and he said, listen,
you can't go with Cooling the Flames because you have
(14:06):
James Brown. What year was this now, that was back
in nineteen sixty three, Okay roughly, no, no, no, no, no,
I have the nineteen sixty five good Night Thing.
Speaker 7 (14:23):
We saw him in sixty four.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Okay, So that's when he said, well, you can't use
the flames because so we said, well, we don't want
to have any problems with the Godfather, so well, don't
we just call ourselves Cooling the Gang.
Speaker 7 (14:38):
The music was the mixture of the jazz and the.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
R and B when we were the Soul Town Band,
and that's when we found Cooling the Gang and we
came out with our first record in July third, nineteen
sixty nine.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
One of the most interesting elements and telling that story,
and I'm sure that a lot of our listeners, especially
the younger ones, might not be familiar with Could you
just talk about speaking of your names like the gang.
Could you just briefly describe, like the the ideals of
actual gangs, at least in your territory, because that was
(15:17):
like one of the most interesting aspects, Like you guys
were talking about like the fact that neighborhoods were just
overrun with gangs and whatnot, and you guys used music
as an escape to not go down that route. But
how heavy was gang activity in your formative years, like
your teen years and and and whatnot.
Speaker 7 (15:35):
Well, I'm trying to make it.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I mean we're you know, we're we're we're a we're
a nerdy, so you don't have to give us the
truncated answer like we we like those those nerdy details.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
Well, what happened was that moved Jersey City, my family
and I. I noticed that I my mother sent me
to the store. They get a load of bread. At
that time, it was called Lucy cost twenty five cents,
and two guys walked up to me and said, uh,
give me your money. Yeah, give me your money. So
(16:18):
the two corners or whatever and I have. My mother said, well, boy,
you better go back and get that corner. I said,
I don't know what these guys are, muh, but anyway,
So I realized that I was gonna have to be
a part of what was going on or I'm gonna
have to be the victim what was going on in
(16:39):
the streets of Jersey City and Newark, you know, on
the surrounding areas.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
And that was before I changed my name to cool.
My name was to Mango.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
To Mango to Mango was the significance of to Bengo.
Speaker 7 (16:59):
What happened was that the that movie had Doughty Danders
in there, and the save from africt. The name went
to Mango.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
Okay, I took on I took on that name, and
I ended up those two guys one name was Quinno.
Then other name was Monk and the other one was Tiger.
So I became a part of that game. And I
turned around and I ended up being the leader of
(17:29):
that game. We had about twenty strong. What yeah, in
the movie, in the book, that whole story before cooling, damn,
And so I.
Speaker 7 (17:45):
Had to learn the ways the way up the street
at that time.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
So you're saying that you had natural born leader skills
that you know you've always had your whole life.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well my brother kind of kind of
pulled me out of that. Okay, Calice, it was getting
a little rough out there, and I started playing the
bass and we started working the boys club, and uh,
you know, when things started to changing a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I was gonna say this, this is sort of archetype
story where like where you hear people just randomly say yeah.
And then I started playing piano, But like, how long
does it take you? Like how from how what was
your musical IQ before you picked up the bass? And
how long did it take you before you're confident enough
to know I can play in a band or I
(18:40):
can be a musician.
Speaker 7 (18:43):
Well, Uh, the.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Late Spike Mickens, his brother's played guitar. I should come
by Spikes housand. I learned how to play one song
on one string called coming Home Baby, Okay working at
the cafe well one night and Alice said, once you
come up, because I was playing coulas and bos and stuff.
(19:07):
He said, what you come on up and let's play
that one song.
Speaker 7 (19:10):
You know that you learned on that one string.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
And the guy gave me your base about the base,
and I played Coming Home Baby.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
So wait, I'm sorry, is the question not when did
you start playing bass, but when you started playing Cunga's then,
because then you just threw that in there.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
That sided Back in Uptown, Ohio, okayat pint can Okay
Ford Bongos, we used to sit up in uh Youngtown,
Ohio and uh it was a school called the Back
of the uh School and we used to take the
paint can. Depending on how much paint is left in
the bottom of the can, created whatever that you're gonna get.
Speaker 7 (19:50):
Yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
We played paint care t became to Jersey and if
my brother finally bought uh some bongles there too, learning
this one song and then I started listening to you know,
different songs, and then Charles Smith used to show me
some lines with the bass and that's when we became
a part of the Soul Town Band.
Speaker 7 (20:15):
And the name Cool.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
That came about because there was a guy in the
neighborhood and he was a hood and he uh, his
name was Cool.
Speaker 7 (20:25):
He spelled it was a C. I gotta get out
of this day. I said, I like that name, So
I took.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
On the name Cool and spelled minds with the K,
not knowing that that was the beginning it was gonna
lead up to Cool at the game.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
I did Cool ever find out that you were inspired
by his name because you said he wasn't like, you know.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Not not really. I mean he was you know, he
were one of those guys in the projects.
Speaker 7 (20:48):
Man.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Oh but you was a boss?
Speaker 7 (20:55):
No, not really.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
So we're the fellow members of the original incarnation of
the group. Were they also gang related as well?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Like?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
How did you wind up organizing the band? And also like,
I mean, I'm not saying that, you know, I understand
the finances of the situation. And in terms of that,
you know, I know it's not profitable for any you know,
band over four members to really make money like that. So, like,
(21:35):
how did you incorporate the other members that started at
least the first incarnation of the band once they became
cool in the game.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Well, I mean we started as were the members when
we became a cool in the game.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
Of course, we were all playing, you know, as.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
A Soltown band, and the Solotown band we were, we
created and learn the motile hits me.
Speaker 7 (22:00):
I will listen to Jamison the lines that you're playing.
You know, uh, for.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Verious motown artists. None of those guys was from the streets.
I'm the only one that had to deal with that.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Okay, So what were those early shows like, like, did
you still once you transition to music then, you know,
were you able to successfully leave the street world that
you're trying to escape from behind or do you still
have to worry about those things when you're at shows,
when you're going to rehearsal, when you're just walking around
the neighborhood by yourself, Like, like, once you make that
(22:38):
transition to a music musician, does that world still try
to suck you in and bring you back to it
or you know, once you became a musician, everyone respected that.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Okay, he's a musician now like leave him, leave him
be Yeah.
Speaker 7 (22:55):
Yeah, you had the problems, you know, a little bit.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
You know, you're playing with the game whatever. You know,
hardcore gods quick try to create some problems.
Speaker 7 (23:09):
But uh, I was able to get through that. But
that was but yeah, we had that.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Oh man, you know sold out man, you playing that
music stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Man, they saw it as a step back like some
you're being a nerd now you're you're That's how they
saw that.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
The music and they was in the streets.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
But you know, I think, I think, I think for
for God, for the blood of that because all them
guys all did and some of them went to jail, and.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
That was a blessing to make it through that during
that time.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
You're right, I'm curious, uh, because I'm familiar with their
history with uh you know acts like uh Louisa and
like GM alone. I'm curious to how you found you know,
like Fred uh well did you did you have dealings
(24:09):
with Fred uh vigor Vodo and Fred uh Fyoto and
Ted Simon Simoniadi I forget their names. I get those
guys mixed up with Hugo and Luigi, but basically the
three friends of ours that started Delight Records. I know
that gene read was on the staff, but how how
(24:31):
did you guys make the transition from local band to
let's make a record?
Speaker 7 (24:39):
Okay? So you just talking about.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Yeah, like, can you talk about them and how they operated?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
I've heard stories, but you know.
Speaker 7 (24:51):
Well there was a small gene Renz story. Okay, he
was a manager with.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Red Cole's Records, and then uh it was changed to
we went from the Red Coach to the Light. And
I remember mister V, Fiolo Freddy and mister V. They
came to my house in Jersey City and uh knocked
(25:18):
on the door. There's two guys down there with the
tal you looking guy. So mister B and they came
into out and listen, this is how you living? He said,
listen weight problems with mister Red, and uh, we want
(25:39):
to bring you guys.
Speaker 7 (25:39):
Over to the Delight Records. So that was real, and
they put a lot of pressure on mister gim Red.
I had heard the story like the five heartbeats. They
must have hung them out the window. One there and said, listen,
you're gonna give up. That's it. Even before the heartbeats.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
You said red, I was like, is there a connection?
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Oh yeah, yeah, I was wondering. I was wondering, how
you know, if those stories were true. My dad had
like minor dealings with with Delight because they were also
associated with Pickwick correct in.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
The NASA the yeah, with.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Guns, I was not. I was not involved with those guys.
And he'd be clear, Yeah, it's just that my dad.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
You know, my dad's Philadelphia, and you know, after his
his paraise into oldies do wop, you know, he would
do like these little one off records in the sixties.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
And it's no secret.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
That a lot of the a lot of the Jersey
associated labels, a lot of the tri state areas local
labels were kind of mob run, you know, which even
with sugar Hill, like with with with uh, you know,
with Sylvia and Joey, having dealings with like Mars Levy
and all those cats, like, you know, it was like
(27:08):
dealing with the sopranos of the sixties. So but I'll
add only only because your brother also told me probably
probably two of the greatest stories I ever heard of
my life on you know, I'm always curious on how
like classic songs get made. And your brother kind of
(27:28):
telling me the story of the late pressuring you guys
to make Jungle Boogie against your will and somehow like
you're you're embittered, you know, embittered sarcastic response to what
they wanted wound up being like a massive hit for
(27:48):
you guys when you guys hated every step of the
way of that.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Could you could you share that story?
Speaker 7 (27:55):
Well, mister v as we call him and frenyfield Yodo.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Called friendly Fielder.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Yeah, he said, you guys, you guys have been having
some territorial hits, like in Philadelphia, maybe New York, Yeah,
maybe Connecticut, he said, but we want you to work
with this kind of thinking. That last name was some Douglas.
(28:25):
He had had this.
Speaker 7 (28:26):
Big hit with Mongol Debaco and uh.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
He said, I want your guys to work with this producer.
So we met them one time and it wasn't really
flowing for us. So we went downtown to a studio
called Baggies and we went in there around eight o'clock
in the morning and we came out of there. We
(28:50):
had created Jungle boogie Holly was swinging and funky stuff.
Speaker 7 (28:57):
So no more problem from the big readers.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
But I heard y'all hated it.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
What did you hate about Jungle Buggie?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Well, according to your brother that you know, well, your
brother explained to me that.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I guess you know Mango's world famous hit, uh soul Makosa,
I em I'm a bum boop. You know it was
the the origins of that song was that it was
it was a hit in France and over in Africa
and somehow, like bootlegs of the of the record made
(29:31):
its way to the States right when disco culture is.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Starting, and that was a very very popular song.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
And Calais was basically like yo, like make make your
version of this song. And because they were jazz knobs,
you know, it would be like yo, Fonte like you
know you you and little brother y'all called y'all little
underground okay player stuff.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But you know, y'all, y'all gotta need to lose it
album right right, And so.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Uh, you know, brother brother Bayon basically said that you know,
they listened to soula Makosa and it felt like just
African mumbo jumble music.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
We don't know this African mumbo jumble music.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
So kind of mocking that song they made Jungle Boogie,
And to me, the greatest moment. I'll say that my
my all time favorite television show is really prevalent in
my life right now, and there's there's there's a really
telling moment about what I feel is the moment that
(30:46):
Soul Trained solidified itself in history because, you know, the
first two years of Soul Trained, Don had to lean
heavy on his Chicago connections, so a lot of local
you know, favor
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Shall we start, Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to another episode
of Quest Love Supreme. I'm your host quest Love Jenkins. Uh,
you got the Supreme family, fresh off of our fifth anniversary,
fresh from the Met Gala.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
What's up on pay Bill?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I'm just saying I was just taking off my alpha
from met Gala. Everything's good. It was good, it was fun.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
What did you do at Wow?
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, I was. I was Kim's uh uh you know Date,
I was black a second actually was Can you imagine that.
Speaker 5 (00:49):
Was the.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Dude you work with muppets all day?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Of course I can imagine that you could have just
borrowed an outfit that's much more American than the than
the Muppets.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I will say I've had some great Halloween costumes care
of the costume department at Sesame Street.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I was I was going to say, are you allowed
to borrow like extra costumes if you return it.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'm not sure if the loudest correct word, but yes,
I have procure pure.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Duck like a spare big bird offset.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I have not snuck puppets offset that would give me, like,
you know, jail time. But I have stolen other people's costumes.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
For sure. Yeah, we got we gotta reinterview you one day, Bill, Yeah,
for real.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Hey, you know I am a book of open knowledge.
What I'm a open book. That's fine, that's fine, That's
that's fine with me. I'm ready to talk at any time.
You tell me what talk, I'll go, Suger Steve, Yes,
you have you found Have you found God?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yet?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Not exactly, But I am working on the greatest audio
book right now.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
To tell Steve.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Look, okay, I went overboard in the pandemic. I wrote
to books and it's held. Steve is losing his hair
right now because the book is like thirty chapters.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
What hair? Oh wow?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I mean you know I had nothing to do.
I was doing Summer Soul on the day, be born
on the farm. At night, you start journaling and somehow
got turned into a thirty chapter book or whatever.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You live the dream right up. You should break that
joint up.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
You should break that joint up into an audio book,
into thirty second snippets and put that shit on Spotify
and bring your numbers up.
Speaker 6 (02:27):
Yeah, you just got marketed that that Yes, that's why
we wish we paid Fronte the big bucks that.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
See he's wearing his glasses today.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
I got my stringle bell glasses. He's smart, smart tage
run around my company all day.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Right yeah, and with the with the special auburn.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I think that's I don't know if it's my red
light or you're special.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Real family to me because as family, you all don't
recognize I got my hair done until two months later.
That is tofo me or thank you. We are family.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It is that shows you that we're we're real guys
because guys don't recognize.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
We don't notice none.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We notice if you cut it, like if you cut it,
I'll notice you cut your hair.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
But a new style too.
Speaker 5 (03:15):
Much cool saying this is what can I just say
before we get into it. I just wanted to also
big up to LA because we've got a big decision
to make today. I know this is gonna come out later,
but some new some newsometime crazy mess.
Speaker 7 (03:25):
Got time.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I have faith. I'm also running for governor of California.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
The list is long enough.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Hey man, you know, look about our guest today.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Without any doubt in my mind, I believe that our
guest is the founding member of the first Hip hop
band wow, meaning a unit without a direct leader. You know, no,
no disrespect to the James Brown Empire and whatnot. And
(03:57):
even though technically Virginia's own Winston's They're They're a classic single,
Amen brother, that interpolation of you know, Curtis Mayfield's Uh
We're a Winner, which weird enough they never got litigious on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
But I don't want to open up any can of
worms with that.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Even though that's been sampled five thousand plus times, making
that the most sampled single. I'll say that our guest
today holds as leader of this band, holds the dubious
honor of having the most sampled catalog by a band.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
In music.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
And I'm not saying hip hop because that's that's limiting it.
Like throughout music, pop artists have sampled cool and so yeah,
and you know this dame like Summer Madness has been
used billions of times.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Uh in t no title. People don't know that NT
stands for no title.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Name them jungle boogie, give it up, Hollywood Swinging, Uh,
Winter Sadness, Sport with Lightning ride, dungle jazz.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Uh So what was what was? What was a ho
happy Jackie with Oh Little Children? Oh Little Children exactly
all the others like over.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I believe the precise numbers eighteen hundred samples over songs
that have either sold gazillion.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Triple or or just been declared classic.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
But to me, what's more, probably more incredible about the
legacy of Cooling Gang, is probably their ability to check
the forecast and adjust accordingly throughout the decades, be it
like the their their jazz soul instrumental heavy beginnings, with
those like the self titled record and the two live
(05:36):
albums that came after it, more soul Yeah, Live at
Pj's and Sex Machine, the soul oriented stuff like Music
and Message and Good Times, or their funk masterpiece Wild
and Peaceful Light of the World, Spirit of the Bookie.
Those records probably one of the finest disco jazz. I'm sorry,
(05:56):
here's a new word. I just figured out an unpaid
bill was not a new word. I did not know
what a porna mental was. Oh, the combination of they
call it dazz music disco jazz anyway and in the
open Sesame record, and also their growth into adulthood with
Celebrate and Ladies' Night, and you know their pop success Joanna.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Yes in the heart.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Johanna's album as one Something Special The Emergency Record was
like one of their biggest selling albums.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
UH to this day hashtag to this day.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
UH.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
This band continues to still operate and their sound is
around forever, be it samples or seeing them a real
deal live.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
They still make records and they continue to brighten our lives.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And this is a long overdue, overdue episode of US Love. Yes,
Basim and gentlemen, please welcome the namesake of one of
the greatest bands in music, Robert cool.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Bell Coolni Gang. Yes, indeed, how are you? How are
you doing today?
Speaker 7 (07:02):
I'm doing fine. Quest his story when it comes to
cool a guy.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Well, you guys, maybe you know, I'm just glad to
be in great company. And you know, you guys literally
have have written the blueprint that you know we are
still following.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
And you know, it's hard to do that.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Like oftentimes when people look at the story of groups
and bands that have been around since the sixties and
the seventies, there's a point in the eighties in which
you kind of have to make life decisions on do
you go with the flow, do you fight it, do
you sabotage it? And you guys probably I'll say that,
(07:46):
of course, the story of the Jackson's is exemplary. But
you know, you guys, along with the Pointer sisters, along
with Lionel Richie, like, the transition from making it to
the seventies to the eighties was a very hard one
that most people they make it, yeah, they they take
it for granted. Like a lot of those you know
that we loved, they found they found some sort of uh,
(08:08):
sustaining power via the power of sampling. But you know,
there was a period in the eighties in which a
lot of those bands didn't make it.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
You guys found a way to.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Really adjust and the silence, as we say, silence to
the haters that might have had disdain because every record
didn't sound like jungle boogie whatnot. But I mean, I
I personally love in hindsight, how you guys have done that.
And you know, as a member of a black band
that's almost going on in the third decade, I mean,
it's it's exemplar. Thank you, thank you very much on
(08:39):
full exemplary. You know, I also want to note yesterday
I got in the mail your I love your also
your fora into the spirit.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Speaking of the spirit, of the boogie the spirit world.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
You have your own champagne called lay cool I like,
and I'm holding it even though they can't see it
at home. I'm showing you guys right now that you
know Robert cool Bell has its own When did you
When did.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You get into actually a mirror?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
But uh, when did you When did you first start
your kind of your foray into the world of.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
A fine drink?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Well, I mean what happened was I was on tour
about three or four years now from Mota.
Speaker 7 (09:28):
He came up to me.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
He said, listen, you know we had it was in
fast and we had about twenty days seven sold out.
Speaker 7 (09:35):
And we're got ready to do it tour.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Of course, said to me, listen, I'm doing a champagne
with the late Berry White and the Erry White look
alike and also one of the BG's.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
At the time there was a very white lookalike touring
in Europe.
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Yeah, they had a bit looks like you were doing
Suffer club dates.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Wow, okay, I wasn't ready for that one.
Speaker 7 (10:04):
He asked me.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Uh he said, uh uh, would you like to sell
champagne on your tour and come up with your own champagne?
I said, well, listen, then, I don't think that my
fans we want to take a bottle of champagne after
my show. They want the T shirts and caps and
stuff like that. So I said, listen, I want to
(10:28):
get on the shelves. He said, oh, I said, yeah,
I want you on the shelves.
Speaker 7 (10:33):
I ain't talking about no tour, no promo item.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
With this idea and concept with the leg Who Champagne
and up in the Rims where they make Don Peril
on Crystal, all the big boys up there. You know,
we end up cutting the deal with the Burchelo family
and we worked on this for about a year and
a half. I went to the Cool Champagne and I
wanted to have that surprise element like coming to America.
Speaker 7 (11:04):
Eddie Murphy that.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
America, And that's how I got started with that several
years ago. The one the most successful, but we got
hipopandemic and everything else.
Speaker 7 (11:19):
So but that's kind of how it happened.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I'm feeling that I'm feeling that you know that that's
that's that's a hard world to break into. So you know,
I'm glad that you found a way to get into it,
because you know it's it's uh, this looks it's a
classic package here.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
I'm definitely send you a bottle uh on pay Bill.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I always wonder, yeah, the fact that how this country
boy from Oxtown, Ohio break into the cocktail?
Speaker 1 (11:50):
How did you get you know something?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I got to say that on on your on the
official Cool and Gang Instagram page, those those little animated
vignettes that you guys were doing telling the history of
the group. It's probably one of the best surprises I've
ever seen, because I mean, I've heard the story of
the group, but to visually see that, it's it's a
(12:14):
wonder that you guys even made it to even form
a band, like not even to get to this point
where you are as as as legacy, but just what
you guys had to go through just to form a band.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
For our listeners that have not heard or seen.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
First of all, I recommend that you guys followed Cool
in the Gang and look for these like.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Minute long bits on the one and.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
So on YouTube is Yeah, Well, one I want to know,
are you guys going to continue that series to tell
the story of the band that in that manner? Because
I love it, But can you tell us basically your
beginnings from where you were born to to what brought
you to Jersey to even form the.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Yeah, that's the first. Yeah, we want to continue that.
We stopped, uh where where you see right now? Of
course I want my brother, but a lot of stuff
around myself and also you know, and then we lost
d T. That was you know, another part of it.
(13:21):
But let me go back Yoxtown, Ohio. We started off
as the Jazzy Acts. Yes, the name was changed to
the Soultown Band. It was the organization in Jersey City.
It was trying to be like Motown and we became
the band. So we would have to learn all these
Motown hits and records, and we had about fifteen people
(13:45):
on the show and we had to learn all these songs.
So we got out of there from the Soultown Band
and we came up with Cooling the Flames. Now, our
first manager, father was working with James Brown, and he said, listen,
you can't go with Cooling the Flames because you have
(14:06):
James Brown. What year was this now, that was back
in nineteen sixty three, Okay roughly, no, no, no, no, no,
I have the nineteen sixty five good Night Thing.
Speaker 7 (14:23):
We saw him in sixty four.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Okay, So that's when he said, well, you can't use
the flames because so we said, well, we don't want
to have any problems with the Godfather, so well, don't
we just call ourselves Cooling the Gang.
Speaker 7 (14:38):
The music was the mixture of the jazz and the.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
R and B when we were the Soul Town Band,
and that's when we found Cooling the Gang and we
came out with our first record in July third, nineteen
sixty nine.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
One of the most interesting elements and telling that story,
and I'm sure that a lot of our listeners, especially
the younger ones, might not be familiar with Could you
just talk about speaking of your names like the gang.
Could you just briefly describe, like the the ideals of
actual gangs, at least in your territory, because that was
(15:17):
like one of the most interesting aspects, Like you guys
were talking about like the fact that neighborhoods were just
overrun with gangs and whatnot, and you guys used music
as an escape to not go down that route. But
how heavy was gang activity in your formative years, like
your teen years and and and whatnot.
Speaker 7 (15:35):
Well, I'm trying to make it.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I mean we're you know, we're we're we're a we're
a nerdy, so you don't have to give us the
truncated answer like we we like those those nerdy details.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
Well, what happened was that moved Jersey City, my family
and I. I noticed that I my mother sent me
to the store. They get a load of bread. At
that time, it was called Lucy cost twenty five cents,
and two guys walked up to me and said, uh,
give me your money. Yeah, give me your money. So
(16:18):
the two corners or whatever and I have. My mother said, well, boy,
you better go back and get that corner. I said,
I don't know what these guys are, muh, but anyway,
So I realized that I was gonna have to be
a part of what was going on or I'm gonna
have to be the victim what was going on in
(16:39):
the streets of Jersey City and Newark, you know, on
the surrounding areas.
Speaker 7 (16:44):
And that was before I changed my name to cool.
My name was to Mango.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
To Mango to Mango was the significance of to Bengo.
Speaker 7 (16:59):
What happened was that the that movie had Doughty Danders
in there, and the save from africt. The name went
to Mango.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
Okay, I took on I took on that name, and
I ended up those two guys one name was Quinno.
Then other name was Monk and the other one was Tiger.
So I became a part of that game. And I
turned around and I ended up being the leader of
(17:29):
that game. We had about twenty strong. What yeah, in
the movie, in the book, that whole story before cooling, damn,
And so I.
Speaker 7 (17:45):
Had to learn the ways the way up the street
at that time.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
So you're saying that you had natural born leader skills
that you know you've always had your whole life.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well my brother kind of kind of
pulled me out of that. Okay, Calice, it was getting
a little rough out there, and I started playing the
bass and we started working the boys club, and uh,
you know, when things started to changing a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I was gonna say this, this is sort of archetype
story where like where you hear people just randomly say yeah.
And then I started playing piano, But like, how long
does it take you? Like how from how what was
your musical IQ before you picked up the bass? And
how long did it take you before you're confident enough
to know I can play in a band or I
(18:40):
can be a musician.
Speaker 7 (18:43):
Well, Uh, the.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Late Spike Mickens, his brother's played guitar. I should come
by Spikes housand. I learned how to play one song
on one string called coming Home Baby, Okay working at
the cafe well one night and Alice said, once you
come up, because I was playing coulas and bos and stuff.
(19:07):
He said, what you come on up and let's play
that one song.
Speaker 7 (19:10):
You know that you learned on that one string.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
And the guy gave me your base about the base,
and I played Coming Home Baby.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
So wait, I'm sorry, is the question not when did
you start playing bass, but when you started playing Cunga's then,
because then you just threw that in there.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
That sided Back in Uptown, Ohio, okayat pint can Okay
Ford Bongos, we used to sit up in uh Youngtown,
Ohio and uh it was a school called the Back
of the uh School and we used to take the
paint can. Depending on how much paint is left in
the bottom of the can, created whatever that you're gonna get.
Speaker 7 (19:50):
Yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
We played paint care t became to Jersey and if
my brother finally bought uh some bongles there too, learning
this one song and then I started listening to you know,
different songs, and then Charles Smith used to show me
some lines with the bass and that's when we became
a part of the Soul Town Band.
Speaker 7 (20:15):
And the name Cool.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
That came about because there was a guy in the
neighborhood and he was a hood and he uh, his
name was Cool.
Speaker 7 (20:25):
He spelled it was a C. I gotta get out
of this day. I said, I like that name, So
I took.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
On the name Cool and spelled minds with the K,
not knowing that that was the beginning it was gonna
lead up to Cool at the game.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
I did Cool ever find out that you were inspired
by his name because you said he wasn't like, you know.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Not not really. I mean he was you know, he
were one of those guys in the projects.
Speaker 7 (20:48):
Man.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Oh but you was a boss?
Speaker 7 (20:55):
No, not really.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
So we're the fellow members of the original incarnation of
the group. Were they also gang related as well?
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Like?
Speaker 2 (21:09):
How did you wind up organizing the band? And also like,
I mean, I'm not saying that, you know, I understand
the finances of the situation. And in terms of that,
you know, I know it's not profitable for any you know,
band over four members to really make money like that. So, like,
(21:35):
how did you incorporate the other members that started at
least the first incarnation of the band once they became
cool in the game.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Well, I mean we started as were the members when
we became a cool in the game.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
Of course, we were all playing, you know, as.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
A Soltown band, and the Solotown band we were, we
created and learn the motile hits me.
Speaker 7 (22:00):
I will listen to Jamison the lines that you're playing.
You know, uh, for.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Verious motown artists. None of those guys was from the streets.
I'm the only one that had to deal with that.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Okay, So what were those early shows like, like, did
you still once you transition to music then, you know,
were you able to successfully leave the street world that
you're trying to escape from behind or do you still
have to worry about those things when you're at shows,
when you're going to rehearsal, when you're just walking around
the neighborhood by yourself, Like, like, once you make that
(22:38):
transition to a music musician, does that world still try
to suck you in and bring you back to it
or you know, once you became a musician, everyone respected that.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Okay, he's a musician now like leave him, leave him
be Yeah.
Speaker 7 (22:55):
Yeah, you had the problems, you know, a little bit.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
You know, you're playing with the game whatever. You know,
hardcore gods quick try to create some problems.
Speaker 7 (23:09):
But uh, I was able to get through that. But
that was but yeah, we had that.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Oh man, you know sold out man, you playing that
music stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Man, they saw it as a step back like some
you're being a nerd now you're you're That's how they
saw that.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
The music and they was in the streets.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
But you know, I think, I think, I think for
for God, for the blood of that because all them
guys all did and some of them went to jail, and.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
That was a blessing to make it through that during
that time.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
You're right, I'm curious, uh, because I'm familiar with their
history with uh you know acts like uh Louisa and
like GM alone. I'm curious to how you found you know,
like Fred uh well did you did you have dealings
(24:09):
with Fred uh vigor Vodo and Fred uh Fyoto and
Ted Simon Simoniadi I forget their names. I get those
guys mixed up with Hugo and Luigi, but basically the
three friends of ours that started Delight Records. I know
that gene read was on the staff, but how how
(24:31):
did you guys make the transition from local band to
let's make a record?
Speaker 7 (24:39):
Okay? So you just talking about.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Yeah, like, can you talk about them and how they operated?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
I've heard stories, but you know.
Speaker 7 (24:51):
Well there was a small gene Renz story. Okay, he
was a manager with.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Red Cole's Records, and then uh it was changed to
we went from the Red Coach to the Light. And
I remember mister V, Fiolo Freddy and mister V. They
came to my house in Jersey City and uh knocked
(25:18):
on the door. There's two guys down there with the
tal you looking guy. So mister B and they came
into out and listen, this is how you living? He said,
listen weight problems with mister Red, and uh, we want
(25:39):
to bring you guys.
Speaker 7 (25:39):
Over to the Delight Records. So that was real, and
they put a lot of pressure on mister gim Red.
I had heard the story like the five heartbeats. They
must have hung them out the window. One there and said, listen,
you're gonna give up. That's it. Even before the heartbeats.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
You said red, I was like, is there a connection?
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Oh yeah, yeah, I was wondering. I was wondering, how
you know, if those stories were true. My dad had
like minor dealings with with Delight because they were also
associated with Pickwick correct in.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
The NASA the yeah, with.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Guns, I was not. I was not involved with those guys.
And he'd be clear, Yeah, it's just that my dad.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
You know, my dad's Philadelphia, and you know, after his
his paraise into oldies do wop, you know, he would
do like these little one off records in the sixties.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
And it's no secret.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
That a lot of the a lot of the Jersey
associated labels, a lot of the tri state areas local
labels were kind of mob run, you know, which even
with sugar Hill, like with with with uh, you know,
with Sylvia and Joey, having dealings with like Mars Levy
and all those cats, like, you know, it was like
(27:08):
dealing with the sopranos of the sixties. So but I'll
add only only because your brother also told me probably
probably two of the greatest stories I ever heard of
my life on you know, I'm always curious on how
like classic songs get made. And your brother kind of
(27:28):
telling me the story of the late pressuring you guys
to make Jungle Boogie against your will and somehow like
you're you're embittered, you know, embittered sarcastic response to what
they wanted wound up being like a massive hit for
(27:48):
you guys when you guys hated every step of the
way of that.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Could you could you share that story?
Speaker 7 (27:55):
Well, mister v as we call him and frenyfield Yodo.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Called friendly Fielder.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Yeah, he said, you guys, you guys have been having
some territorial hits, like in Philadelphia, maybe New York, Yeah,
maybe Connecticut, he said, but we want you to work
with this kind of thinking. That last name was some Douglas.
(28:25):
He had had this.
Speaker 7 (28:26):
Big hit with Mongol Debaco and uh.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
He said, I want your guys to work with this producer.
So we met them one time and it wasn't really
flowing for us. So we went downtown to a studio
called Baggies and we went in there around eight o'clock
in the morning and we came out of there. We
(28:50):
had created Jungle boogie Holly was swinging and funky stuff.
Speaker 7 (28:57):
So no more problem from the big readers.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
But I heard y'all hated it.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
What did you hate about Jungle Buggie?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Well, according to your brother that you know, well, your
brother explained to me that.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I guess you know Mango's world famous hit, uh soul Makosa,
I em I'm a bum boop. You know it was
the the origins of that song was that it was
it was a hit in France and over in Africa
and somehow, like bootlegs of the of the record made
(29:31):
its way to the States right when disco culture is.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Starting, and that was a very very popular song.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
And Calais was basically like yo, like make make your
version of this song. And because they were jazz knobs,
you know, it would be like yo, Fonte like you
know you you and little brother y'all called y'all little
underground okay player stuff.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But you know, y'all, y'all gotta need to lose it
album right right, And so.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
Uh, you know, brother brother Bayon basically said that you know,
they listened to soula Makosa and it felt like just
African mumbo jumble music.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
We don't know this African mumbo jumble music.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
So kind of mocking that song they made Jungle Boogie,
And to me, the greatest moment. I'll say that my
my all time favorite television show is really prevalent in
my life right now, and there's there's there's a really
telling moment about what I feel is the moment that
(30:46):
Soul Trained solidified itself in history because, you know, the
first two years of Soul Trained, Don had to lean
heavy on his Chicago connections, so a lot of local
you know, favor
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