George “Funky” Brown, Kool & The Gang Drummer and Co-Founder, Dead at 74

Kool & The Gang’s longtime drummer and founding member George “Funky” Brown died on November 16 of lung cancer. He was 74. The super-talented drummer provided the funky backbone for the legendary soul/funk/jazz band's tracks for decades. He was also one of the band’s main songwriters and co-wrote classics such as “Celebration,” “Ladies’ Nights,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Too Hot,” “Summer Madness,” “Get Down On It" and "Cherish." Brown, along with fellow Kool & The Gang members Robert “Kool” Bell, James “J.T.” Taylor and Ronald Bell (aka Khalis Bayyan), was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.

George Melvin Brown was born on January 15, 1949 in Jersey City. His father, George Sr., worked in the coal business, and his mother, Eleanor White Brown, was employed as a maid and key puncher. His parents made sure that music was always a big part of his life. Brown developed an interest in drumming at a young age. He saved up money from his newspaper route to buy his first drum set. He paid $3 for a drumming lesson from a drummer who used to play for renowned vocal group the Shirelles. He told Brown that he was a “natural” and gave him the book titled Buddy Rich’s 16 Essential Snare Drum Rudiments. Brown took one more lesson and never returned, as he already had the necessary tools to become a great drummer. He modeled his drumming style after jazz drummers like Art Blakey, Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones.

In 1964, Brown, tenor saxophonist Ronald Bell, trumpeter Robert “Spike” Mickens, keyboardist Rickey West, bassist Robert “Kool” Bell (Ronald’s brother), guitarist Charles Smith and saxophonist Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas formed the Jazziacs. They were neighborhood friends, and all of them, except for Smith, attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City. The band members were influenced by jazz giants such as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, so their early sound was very jazz-heavy. They gigged around the East Coast for years honing their chops, developing band chemistry and building a following. 

The band also went through various name changes, including The Funk Town Band, The Soul Machine Review and The New Dimension, before finally settling on Kool & The Gang. By the time they changed their name to Kool & The Gang, their sound had become much more funky and R&B-based; however, there were still strong jazz elements in their music.

The band signed to De-Lite Records in 1969. They released their self-titled debut album on the label in December of that year. The album is a high-quality collection of R&B, funk and soul-jazz tracks. It showcased the band’s formidable musicianship and impressive production and arrangement skills. The album’s two singles, “Let The Music Take Your Mind” and “Kool & The Gang,” both peaked at #19 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. The LP reached #43 on Billboard’s R&B album chart. The collection served as a great launching pad for the band’s incredible music career.

Kool & The Gang went on to become one of the biggest R&B bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s. They have sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and boast 25 top-10 singles on the R&B charts (including nine #1s) and 12 top-10 singles on the pop charts. The band also has 31 gold and platinum albums and has landed numerous music honors and awards, including two Grammys and seven American Music Awards. In 2014, they were honored with the BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award. And they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015. Additionally, Kool & The Gang are the tenth most sampled artist of all time; their music has been sampled 1922 times, according to WhoSampled.com.

George “Funky” Brown's drumming was an essential ingredient of Kool & The Gang's sound, and he has influenced legions of drummers with his tremendous skills and dynamic funk feel. He never failed to deliver the funk, be it in the studio or onstage.

"Let The Music Take Your Mind"

Kool & The Gang performing "Who's Gonna Take The Weight" on Soul Train in 1972

"Funky Stuff"

"Gator Bait" by The Gaturs, featuring Willie Tee

This jazzy deep-funk groove is by influential New Orleans band the Gaturs, featuring Willie Tee. The talented players show how they funk things up NOLA style on this 1970 instrumental. Erving Charles Jr. lays down a smokin’ bass line, which is complemented by Larry Panna’s dynamic drumming and Alfred “Uganda” Roberts’ poppin’ congas. The track also features some tight wah-wah guitar licks from June Ray, and Tee serves up some smooth funk on keyboards. The groove is further elevated by a badass bass solo from Charles. “Gator Bait” was written, produced and mixed by Tee. 

Willie Tee (born Wilson Turbinton) was a keyboardist, singer, songwriter and producer. He was a seminal figure in New Orleans music and helped forge its sound through his influential funk and soul recordings of the ‘60s and ‘70s. He was also the creative force behind the landmark 1974 album The Wild Magnolias, which he co-wrote and arranged. He also assembled the session’s backing band. The album was the first to combine New Orleans funk with the parade chants of Mardi Gras Indian tribe, the Wild Magnolias. The album, and its follow-up They Call Us Wild (1975), brought Mardi Gras Indian funk to the world stage. 

Tee formed the Gaturs in 1970. They were one of the architects of the New Orleans funk sound. Their music was a delicious stew of funk, jazz, soul and jazz-funk. The band released some topflight grooves on New Orleans soul label Gatur Records, which was co-owned by Tee and his cousin Ulis Gaines. Tee and the Gaturs' reputation grew, and they soon became a staple of the New Orleans club scene. In 1994, a 10-song compilation of the Gaturs’ music was released on Funky Delicacies, a subsidiary of New York-based Tuff City Records. The compilation, titled Wasted, is named after a Gaturs track. “Gator Bait” is also included on the compilation. 

During his distinguished music career, Tee played with a number of prominent New Orleans artists–in the studio and on stage. And in addition to his prodigious keyboard skills and impressive songwriting and production abilities, he was a talented vocalist. He brought his rich vocals to soul gems like “Teasin’ You” and “Please Don’t Go.”

Tee’s music has also been embraced by the hip-hop community. His tracks have been sampled by big-name rap artists such as Diddy, Lil Wayne, Nas and Geto Boys. 

Additionally, Tee’s music has been featured on the soundtracks for films such as Ray (2004) and Undercover Blues (1993). And his tracks have appeared on two episodes of the HBO series The Wire (season 4, episodes 4 and 12, 2006), as well as one episode of HBO series Treme (season 1, episode 1, 2010).

Tee was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame on April 14, 2007. He died of colon cancer on September 11, 2007 at the age of 63, leaving behind an amazing musical legacy. His immense contributions to New Orleans music will forever be remembered and celebrated.

The Gaturs music available at Amazon

Film Review of The United States vs. Billie Holiday starring Andra Day

The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a biographical drama that explores legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday's struggles with heroin addiction and the U.S. government’s quest to destroy her reputation and career. The 2021 Lee Daniels film also focuses on the importance of Holiday’s landmark song “Strange Fruit” and how it shed light on anti-black racial terrorism taking place in the American South.

The film is based on a chapter from the nonfiction book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. It was adapted for the screen by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. The film stars singer-songwriter/actress Andra Day as Billie Holiday.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday covers the years 1947 to 1959. Much of it takes place in the late ‘40s when Holiday was battling heroin addiction and alcoholism. She was also being targeted by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) at that time. FBN commissioner Henry J. Anslinger, an avowed racist, launched a vicious personal crusade against Holiday. He used her heroin addiction as a pretext to silence her and prevent her from performing her 1939 song “Strange Fruit.” The powerful protest anthem describes a lynching in horrific detail. Its harrowing imagery sent chills down the spines of listeners whenever Holiday performed it. She infused the song with a haunting mix of sorrow and bitterness with every verse dripping with pain and heartbreak. 

The song became a much-requested favorite at Holiday’s shows, and she defiantly continued to perform it despite many threats and warnings from Anslinger, who believed the song was dangerous and could incite riots. And he did everything in his power to prevent Holiday from performing it. He had the singer arrested three times and repeatedly attempted to plant evidence on her through his agents or her lovers. Anslinger was eventually successful in framing Holiday for the purchase and use of heroin–landing her an 18-month stint in prison and the revocation of her cabaret card. The federal government refused to reinstate Holiday’s cabaret card upon her release from prison in 1948. At that time, a cabaret card was mandatory for musicians and singers who performed at clubs or bars that served alcohol. This seriously undermined her career, as she could no longer travel the nightclub circuit. 

However, that didn’t stop Holiday from making a triumphant appearance at Carnegie Hall just 11 days after her release from prison. This was her first performance at the fabled venue as a headliner, and she completely mesmerized the sold-out crowd with her incredible talent. She had three curtain calls during this historic performance. This amazing scene is one of the biggest highlights of the film. And it illustrates why Day was cast in the title role.

Day delivers a phenomenal performance as Holiday. She hits all the right emotional beats and commands the screen in every scene. She completely embodies Holiday–both onstage and off–in the role. And what makes this even more impressive is that this was Day’s first starring role and only her third film. The performance landed Day a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. It also garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

The film also boasts a really strong supporting cast. Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight) is a standout as conflicted black federal agent Jimmy Fletcher. He goes undercover as one of Holiday’s ardent fans to dig up dirt on her to bring back to his superiors; however, he eventually starts to empathize with the singer and grows to understand the reasons behind her addiction to heroin and alcohol; he learns that she uses them to salve deep emotional wounds born from an extremely rough life, which included abject poverty, sexual violence and prostitution. The character, who is based on a real-life FBI agent, even develops a romantic relationship with Holiday in the film. However, a romantic relationship between the two in real life has never been confirmed. Rhodes was an inspired casting choice as Fletcher. He and Day share amazing onscreen chemistry.

Another cast standout is Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name) who plays Holiday’s close friend and confidante Roslyn. Joy brings an entertaining mix of toughness and vulnerability to the role; she also brings some much-needed humor to this serious drama. Also, Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black) is great as stage and film actress Tallulah Bankhead, who was a rumored lover of Holiday’s. Although a romantic relationship between the two has never been confirmed, they were definitely close friends until they had a falling out due to Bankhead’s insistence that she be kept out of Holiday’s autobiography Lady Sings The Blues (originally published in 1956). She even threatened to file a lawsuit if she wasn’t kept out of the book, as she feared it could ruin her career. 

Some of the other members of the talented cast include Erik LaRay Harvey, Miss Lawrence, Tyler James Williams, Leslie Jordan, Garrett Hedlund and Evan Ross. 

The United States vs. Billie Holiday is overall a really good film, and Daniels does a great job of showcasing all of the pressures that Holiday was facing during that period in her life as well as touching on the historic significance of “Strange Fruit.” However, the film starts losing focus during its final third. The rhythm and pacing just feel off during this portion of the film. Everything is kind of disjointed and lacks cohesion. The momentum and energy that drove the earlier scenes are missing here. Nonetheless, Day’s superb performance even elevates these weaker scenes and makes them work. Credit must also go to the terrific supporting cast for bringing their best to each scene. 

The film is currently streaming on Hulu. 

The United States vs. Billie Holiday available at Amazon