George Brown, Founding Member of Kool & the Gang, Pens Memoir
After beating cancer, a founding member of Kool & The Gang looks back on his life as a self-taught drummer and songwriter who has spent six decades making music, touring the world, and navigating fame’s wild ride as an African American trailblazer.
Growing up around music, young George was inspired to piece together a makeshift drum set and teach himself to play as he practiced in the dark, dank basement of his rundown New Jersey townhouse. He soon joined forces with his friends to form a group called the Jazziacs which then evolved into Kool & The Gang, a band that began playing clubs and charting hits while its members were still teenagers. By evolving their sound as musical tastes changed, the band was able to stay on the charts for decades, scoring 12 Top 10 hits in Funk, R&B, Pop, and Rock, and selling over seventy million albums while navigating the highs and lows of their career. They are currently an in-demand live act touring the world extensively every year.
In his book Too Hot!, drummer, keyboardist, and primary songwriter George Brown describes life in and out of the band including a raucous life on the road as the band’s popularity grew. He weathered the ups and downs of his musical career, at one point by borrowing $2,000 from his mother to pay his bills (soon after, he repaid her with $10,000, and she bought her first house).
Over the years, George has navigated many challenges that include prescription drug addiction, depression, and health issues that eventually forced him to drop out of their tour just as they were opening for the band Van Halen. On yet another tour, George realized that his addiction was out of control, and he was admitted into rehab. Once he was back on tour, he found himself unceremoniously excluded from the schedule and was out of the band. That shut out lasted for several years.
During that time, he started his own production company and soon found himself busier than ever by creating film/TV soundtracks and producing new artists. Ultimately, he was asked to rejoin the group and has continued touring with them to this day.
In his book, George shares how his recent cancer scare, and subsequent treatment, compelled him to share his story, warts and all, to give readers a glimpse into a band whose reputation was considered relatively tame, but in reality, it was exactly the opposite. By sharing his cautionary tale of musical life lessons, George hopes to help others realize their own professional and personal dreams for a happy and fulfilled life. After all, life is a symphony, and we must all be our own conductor.
In addition to being a founding member of the iconic musical group Kool & the Gang, George Brown has been one of the primary songwriters of the group, producing hits like “Ladies’ Night,” “Get Down on It,” “Joanna,” “Cherish,” “Emergency,” “Celebration,” and of course “Too Hot.” The group has won two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits, and 31 gold and platinum albums. Kool & The Gang has been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, received the Soul Train Legend Award, and been granted a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. George Brown was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and continues to tour around the world with the band.
Source: Nine Speakers, Inc.