I grew up during the height of the disco craze. I attended high school in the late 1970s when Saturday Night Fever broke records and bands like the Bee Gees and Donna Summer dominated the airwaves. But I did not embrace it at the time, preferring punk rock, new wave, and hard rock to what I saw as overproduced dance music.
I have reevaluated this music over the decades, and I have come to appreciate the melodies and rhythm of disco music.
I celebrated this reevaluation Saturday night at Waukegan's Genesee Theatre, where I saw KC and the Sunshine Band. They were one of the most successful disco bands of the 1970s, cranking out.
The band opened with two of their biggest hits: "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and "Boogie Shoes" before KC talked to the audience, joking he'd talk for an hour before the next song. He warned us we wouldn't see the 23-year-old who first started making hits. "I am now 30... plus 30... plus 10... plus 5!" At 75, he looks very different from his youth, most notably because he gained a significant amount of weight during the pandemic. He acknowledged his weight struggles, quipping, "I thought about changing the name of the band to 'KFC and the Sunshine Band."
Although the band played a few cover songs from the 70s, the crowd was most appreciative when he played his upbeat hits, including "Get Down Tonight", "That's the Way (I Like It)", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", and "Give It Up". I have a soft spot for his most popular ballad, "Please Don't Go", the slow-dance song the DJ played each night when an underage David would sneak into Detroit's Graffiti Lounge.
KC also played his version of "Rock Your Baby" - a song he wrote for George McCrae, who recorded a hit with it.
The Sunshine Band has at least a dozen musicians, with a heavy emphasis on horns, keyboards, and percussion. They brought great energy to the music's funk and groove. Multiple dancers entertained as well. Both they and KC changed costumes multiple times during the show.
While most of the audience rediscovered music they loved in their youth, I found a new appreciation for this style.