Get Down Tonight

As the year that was 2024 winds down, with all its hellish moments and personal setbacks, I’ve planned a positive, forward-looking sendoff; Attending a New Year’s Eve concert by Florida’s very own maker-of-smiles KC & The Sunshine Band. Before you say “Disco ain’t cool, Vic,” I’ll tell you that it is. Harry Wayne Casey (KC) started out in the early 70s with a backing band that was funky as hell and quite cool actually. Check out this performance/track from 1974 called Queen Of Clubs. https://youtu.be/P9KxsHmZU78?si=8l-QClitnsvZLHCF 

Listen to those horns blaring. The tempo is designed to get you up and grooving. It helps you forget about the awfulness in the world for 3 minutes. It’s totally fine and emotionally beneficial to put your head in the sand and drown out the news and shitty advertising and the internet now and then with KC’s beautiful, screaming falsetto. I know KC and his band of sunshiners will kickstart my 2025 by welcoming it in with positivity. There’ll be enough time to focus on life’s challenges. Take it away, Casey!

A quick side note: Neil Hamburger’s song Endless Roll leaned heavily on Queen Of Clubs for inspiration. I was lucky enough to be asked to create the music video for it, which at the time, I had no idea what the hell I was doing but made it work somehow. https://youtu.be/nMWJ7wFGljA?si=UJhfBwyml7R43Zy0 

Back to Casey and how great he is! I love that he acknowledges that he’s overweight at this point and can make fun of himself while still performing all the demanding dance moves that he’s done in his shows since the start. He has a great look now; optional toupee, bedazzled jackets, the whole nine yards. He’s an inspiration. He loves life. Watch him spin. https://youtu.be/-ETnWdx144U?si=XsDBqJ3NEcpSbtoU&t=1271 

Casey also had a career writing songs for other acts, penning the huge hit Rock Your Baby for George McCrae. https://youtu.be/Wdo-ZiHqbls?si=xPcFjx-5tuQ_NdHa Love that very analog sounding drum machine loop. Casey developed his own sound that shines through when other artists record his tunes. Gimme Some recorded by Jimmy Bo Horn in 1975 has that classic Sunshine Band feel. Also check out the cool music video for it. https://youtu.be/tyiORI-EFA0?si=bQynaFW00RQMojrU 

I didn't even get into his huge hits like Get Down Tonight, Please Don't Go or That's The Way (I Like It, uh-huh, uh-huh) but I hope this inspires you guys to at least put on a greatest hits record or one of their funky early albums. I will let you know how the show is in the new year! Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Office Hours. Cheers to a sunshiney 2025!