Staying relevant means listening to what people want, and recreating yourself to fit the mold. That’s what Robert Bell did with his band in the middle 1960s. Originally “The Jazziacs” from New Jersey, Mr Robert, aka Kool saw early that changes needed to be made to become a band that could compete with other bands and groups. In the early 1970s that meant converting from playing funky jazz to playing funky dance music. In the late 1970s, Kool & The Gang reinvented themselves and became a disco and pop group. Becoming a group took finding producer to recreate them and a singer.

Tonight in Muzik Detention, we are going to discuss one of the funkiest jazz turned funk, turned pop, turned top 40 group. Relevance is the secret to “Staying Power,” and Robert Bell managed to keep his band relevant for 20 years.