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The Bee Gees may have been the undisputed disco kings of the late ’70s,
but KC & the Sunshine Band weren’t far behind.  From the mid- to late
’70s, the multi-member and racially integrated group led by bandleaders
Harry Wayne “KC” Casey and Richard Finch racked up some of the era’s
biggest and instantly recognizable dance hits.  Casey and Finch first
met in 1972 while both were employed by TK Records in Miami, FL, where
among other chores, Casey served as a personal secretary and booking
agent for artist Timmy Thomas.  KC & the Sunshine Band officially formed
in 1973, but a debut single, “Blow Your Whistle,” sunk from sight upon
release.  But it was another Casey/Finch original, “Rock Your Baby,”
that R&B artist George McCrae scored a hit with in 1974 as KC & the
Sunshine Band began issuing further albums and singles, quickly scoring
big hits on their own.  The group then began an impressive run of disco
hits: 1977’s “Shake Shake Shake (Shake Your Booty),” “I’m Your
Boogieman,” “Keep It Comin’ Love,” “Boogie Shoes” (the latter included
on the monster-selling soundtrack to the hit John Travolta disco movie,
Saturday Night Fever), 1979’s “Do You Wanna Go Party,” and 1980’s
“Please Don’t Go.” Despite earning nine Grammy nominations (receiving
three awards) and selling millions of records, KC & the Sunshine Band
weren’t susceptible to the backlash that disco bands felt by the dawn of
the ’80s, eventually leading to dwindling sales and the group’s split by
the early ’80s (although KC scored a moderate solo hit in 1983 with
“Give It Up”).  Come the ’90s, an appreciation of everything ’70s swept
across the U.S., which led to a renewed interest bands from the era,
prompting KC & the Sunshine Band to re-form for concert performances.
That decade saw the release of countless KC “hits” collections and even
an episode of VH1’s popular Behind the Music series that studied the
group’s ups and downs.  Harry joins Shadoe from his home in Hialeah
Florida.