Bands

KC & The Sunshine Band on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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The new sound of Disco was a reaction against the domination of rock music in the mainstream.  Disco combined funk, soul, R&B and Latin music into a unique and new sound. One of the first innovators of this dance music genre was KC & The Sunshine Band.

KC & The Sunshine appeared live on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert twice. This past April marked the 35th Anniversary of the band’s second appearance. “The Band that was there in the beginning with the cooking disco sounds” said Don Kirshner about KC & The Sunshine Band as he introduced their second act. On April 1977, the multi-member and racially integrated group performed their famous hit “Get Down Tonight.” That night, as it was expected, they delivered a highly energetic performance. Wearing colorful, flashy, bellbottom jump suits, the entire band was getting down and disco dancing on the stage. The horn players, drummer, background singers and every single band member was boogying like there was no tomorrow, passing on their contagious groove to the public.

KC & The Sunshine Band was founded by Harry Wayne “KC” Casey and Richard Finch in 1973, whose music collaboration began when they first met in the early seventies while both were employed by TK Records in Miami, Florida. As Don Kirshner once said about the band, what made their acts so captivating was the fact that not only did “KC” and Finch, write and produce their own material, but they also performed it. Their performances were known to be engaging, fun, passionate and highly memorable.

Despite earning nine Grammy nominations (including two for their work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) and selling millions of records, KC & the Sunshine Band were still vulnerable to the backlash that disco bands felt by the beginning of the 1980s.  This  eventually led to decreasing records sales and the group’s split by the early ’80s.

KC & The Sunshine band will always be recognized as one of the eras biggest disco hit makers with smash hits such as “That’s the Way (I Like It),” “(Shake, Shake, Shake), Shake Your Booty” and “Boogie Shoes.” To this day they are still as widely popular as they were when they first danced into the music scene. One can say that KC & The Sunshine band pointed the direction that pop music would take in the 1980’s.

 

Bands

The Sex Pistols on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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In the mid-1970’s, sounds of anger and energy struck in what came to be called “punk rock.” The Sex Pistols were at the forefront of the movement and responsible for initiating and ultimately revolutionizing punk music.  By 1977, along with The Ramones, the Sex Pistols were sharing the punk rock throne in the U.K., while in the U.S., they had just begun to receive mass recognition.

During the beginning of 1978, The Sex Pistols came to the US for their first American tour, where they toured mainly throughout the American South, including a live performance at the Longhorn in Dallas, Texas. This performance was aired on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert on April 10th, 1978, a few months after the group disbanded. That night vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Sid Vicious gave a resounding performance despite the fact that the band was in the process of disintegration at the time of this show.

Above the stage there were drawn portraits of famous country music stars, such as Marty Robbins and Willie Nelson, which was a strong juxtaposition with the punk rock band’s image.  The Sex Pistols performed their hits, “Anarchy in the UK,” “No Feelings,” “Holidays in the Sun” and “No Fun.” Despite their impressive performance, many fans noticed the tension and friction evident on the stage. While they were performing “No Fun” the camera showed an upset Steve Jones, who looked to be getting very angry at a fan who was yelling at the band.

Unfortunately, the band broke-up in January of 1978 after a show in San Francisco. Sid Vicious’ heroin addiction had gotten out of hand (he would die less than a year later of a heroin overdose) and was affecting the rest of the band members. After their split all members went their separate ways and worked on several individual projects, including a Sex Pistols feature film, which Malcolm McLaren, their former manager, was overseeing, for which they all individually recorded songs. In 1996, the Pistols original line-up John Lydon (A.K.A Johnny Rotten), Paul Cook, Steve Jones & Glen Matlock re-united for the release of their album ‘Filthy Lucre’ and a world tour.

Regardless of the group’s short turbulent history, The Sex Pistols remain icons and pioneers of punk music as well as the punk movement. In 2006, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; however they refused to attend the ceremony.

Bands

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

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Throughout the show’s run, Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert ushered in nearly every big music act of its era. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were no exception.  Although they did not perform live on Rock Concert’s stage, in March of 1980, two film promos of their famous hits “Refugee” and “Here Comes My Girl” were broadcast on the show. Don Kirshner presented the band by saying “One of the true giants to appear in the rock scene in recent years is the overpowering Tom Petty.”

Tom Petty was indeed overpowering; in fact, very few acts have sustained such enduring careers as Petty. The band hailed from Gainesville, Florida and was originally formed in 1976 by Tom Petty (guitar & vocals), Mike Campbell (lead guitar), Benmont Tench (piano, organ, harmonium & vocals), (the three of them had been members of a previous band called Mudcrutch), Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums).

The band found nearly immediate success and there is no doubt that the Heartbreakers ascension was fueled by brilliant songwriting of Petty.  By the end of the 1970’s and early 1980’s, the young band had risen to the top of the record world.  “I want to be just enough unsatisfied that I want to make the next album better than the last,” Petty once said. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers trace their musical heritage to such bands as The Byrds and The Rolling Stones. Throughout their career, the rock group sought to combine psychedelic, Southern rock, and new wave influences into their music.

The following decades would be full of accomplishments for Tom Petty and the legendary rock group, including numerous Grammy Awards, a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction. Even though Tom Petty had a tremendously successful solo career, he has always returned to his band as the place he calls home. Proof of this is the band’s recently announced 2012 tour throughout North America and Europe.

Davy Jones, Dolenz, Boyce & Hart on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

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In 1975, Davy Jones appeared on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert with fellow band mate Mickey Dolenz. They performed with Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who together with Neil Diamond and Carole King wrote many of The Monkees’ hits.

Prior to their performance, Don Kirshner gave a rather nice introduction of these four talented artists. Kirshner commented on The Monkees’ success during the late 1960’s and subsequently stated, “Now in the 1970’s the talent of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart!”

As soon as he finished with his introduction, the camera cut to the four musicians as they pulled up to the theater in a car, wearing blue, white, yellow and red long-sleeved shirts with their names emblazoned on the back. They rushed to the stage as the band was playing “Last Train to Clarksville.” Once on stage, each member grabbed a tambourine and Mickey Dolenz began to sing.  Following this high-energy opening, Davy Jones took over the stage and sang “I Want To Be Free.”

After a performance by the Ohio Players and Rory Gallagher, who were also guests on the show that night, Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart came back on stage to sing “(Not Your) Stepping Stone.” This time Mickey Dolenz was bare-chested wearing a blue wig, beads and a mask. The group ended their performance with Monkees’ hits “I’m a Believer “and “I Remember the Feeling.”

Even though The Monkees never appeared on the Don Kirshner stage as a whole group, Dolenz and Jones’ performance with Boyce and Hart on the Rock Concert was certainly remarkable.

Despite his passing this week, Davy Jones’ impact on music history and memory on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert will continue to live on.  Rest in peace.