The band's first taste of mainstream success came with the release of their fourth album Wild and Peaceful (1973), which contained the US top-ten singles "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging". Kool & the Gang subsequently entered a period of decline before they reached a second commercial peak between 1979 and 1986 following their partnership with Brazilian musician and producer Eumir Deodato and the addition of singer James "J.T." Taylor to the lineup. Their most successful albums of this period include Ladies' Night (1979), Celebrate! (1980), and Emergency (1984), their highest selling album with two million copies sold in the US. Their hit singles during this period included "Ladies' Night", the US No. 1 "Celebration", "Get Down on It", "Joanna", "Misled", and "Cherish". The band continues to perform worldwide, including as support for Van Halen in 2012 and their fiftieth-anniversary tour in 2014.
Kool & the Gang have won numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and, in 2006, a Music Business Association Chairman's Award for artistic achievement. As well the band has been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame and been bestowed with a MOBO Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Soul Train Legend Award, the Marian Anderson Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. During 2018, the Bells, Brown, and Taylor were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received their first-time nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Their discography includes 23 studio albums and almost 70 singles. They have sold 7.5 million and 4.5 million RIAA-certified albums and singles, respectively, in the United States. Worldwide, they have sold 70 million albums.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool_&_the_Gang
Discography
Kool and the Gang (1969)
Music Is the Message (1972)
Good Times (1972)
Wild and Peaceful (1973)
Light of Worlds (1974)
Spirit of the Boogie (1975)
Love & Understanding (1976)
Open Sesame (1976)
The Force (1977)
Everybody's Dancin' (1978)
Ladies' Night (1979)
Celebrate! (1980)
Something Special (1981)
As One (1982)
In the Heart (1983)
Emergency (1984)
Forever (1986)
Sweat (1989)
Unite (1992)
State of Affairs (1996)
Gangland (2001)
The Hits: Reloaded (2004)
Still Kool (2007)
Kool for the Holidays (2013)
Perfect Union (2021)
People Just Wanna Have Fun (2023)
Rated X
Kool & the Gang Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until you've seen the stars
Reflect in the reservoirs
And you have never been in love
Until you've seen the dawn rise
Behind the home for the blind
We are the pretty petty thieves
And you're standing on our street
With a gun in his hand
And the first to do time
The first of the gang to die, oh my!
Hector was the first of the gang
With a gun in his hand
And the first to do time
The first of the gang to die, oh my!
You have never been in love
Until you've seen the sunlight thrown
Over smashed human bones
We are the pretty petty thieves
And you're standing on our street
Where Hector was the first of the gang
With a gun in his hand
And the first to do time
The first of the gang to die, oh such a silly boy!
Hector was the first of the gang
With a gun in his hand
And the bullets in his gullet
And the first last lad to go under the sod
And he stole from the rich and the poor
And the not very rich and the very poor
And he stole all hearts away
He stole all hearts away
He stole all hearts away, away
He stole all hearts away, away
He stole all hearts away, away
...
The lyrics to Kool & The Gang's "Rated X" tell the story of a gang who engages in criminal activity, and the tragic fate that befalls one of their members. The first verse starts with a description of love, with the suggestion that true love can only be experienced through the most extreme and violent of experiences. The second verse is where the focus of the narrative takes root, with the description of a gang that roams the streets. The reference to Hector, the first member of the gang, who has a gun in his hand and is the first to do time, suggests that this is a group of outlaws who engage in violent criminal behavior.
A sense of tragedy comes rushing through the story as Hector is also the first of the gang to die. The second mention of Hector's death, "the bullets in his gullet and the first last lad to go under the sod", implies that he died in a hail of bullets. The final lines of the song describe Hector's thievery and his ability to steal hearts away. The fact that he is shown as someone who stole from both the rich and the poor suggests that his thievery was about a kind of leveling of the playing field, where everyone was fair game. In the end, his actions caught up with him, and he died tragically.
Line by Line Meaning
You have never been in love
Love is a deep and intense feeling that one can't truly experience until they have seen something truly beautiful.
Until you've seen the stars
One of the most beautiful things to see are the stars in the sky, shining like diamonds.
Reflect in the reservoirs
The still waters of a reservoir can be a perfect mirror, reflecting the stars above and creating a beautiful sight.
And you have never been in love
Love is a feeling that can only be fully realized when you have experienced it for yourself.
Until you've seen the dawn rise
To see the beauty of a new day beginning, with the first light of the sun rising, is truly awe-inspiring.
Behind the home for the blind
Even in a place where there is darkness and pain, love can still shine through.
We are the pretty petty thieves
We are people who take what we want, no matter who it belongs to, but we do it with style and grace.
And you're standing on our street
You're in our territory now, and we're not afraid to show you what we're capable of.
Where Hector was the first of the gang
This is where it all began, with Hector, the original leader of our gang.
With a gun in his hand
Hector was always ready to use violence to get what he wanted.
And the first to do time
Hector was the first one of us to go to jail for his crimes.
The first of the gang to die, oh my!
Hector was the first to lose his life because of his actions.
You have never been in love
Love is a feeling that is all-consuming and can only be fully realized when you have seen the beauty in everything, even in the midst of destruction.
Until you've seen the sunlight thrown
Even in the most violent and devastating situations, the sun still rises, illuminating everything with its warm light.
Over smashed human bones
Even in the face of death and destruction, love can still shine through.
And he stole from the rich and the poor
Hector didn't discriminate when it came to his thievery; he took from anyone and everyone.
And the not very rich and the very poor
Hector's thievery didn't care about social status, he took from those who had little as well as those who had much.
And he stole all hearts away
Despite his criminal ways, Hector was still loved and admired by many.
He stole all hearts away, away
Hector's charisma and charm made people forget about his criminal activities and fall in love with him.
He stole all hearts away, away
Hector's legacy lives on, even after his death, as people remember him with fondness and admiration.
Writer(s): Robert Mickens, Dennis Ronald Thomas, Claydes Smith, George Brown, Robert Bell, Ronald Nathan Bell, Richard Westfield
Contributed by Jasmine O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.