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History of Henry Stone Music - Page 2 of 3

Richard Finch, Henry Stone & Harry Casey

While working at a record store, young Harry Wayne "KC" Casey came in contact with Tone Distributors and TK Records. KC began hanging around Tone/TK. Stone gave KC the double-duty job of sweeping floors and packing records for shipment in the warehouse. While packing records in 1972, KC met bassist and occasional recording engineer Richard Finch. The two teens formed a creative partnership. Stone let the young men work and experiment in the recording studio when it wasn't booked and during after-midnight hours. 

The two cut numerous demos on themselves, just jamming. KC felt an almost paternal connection to Stone, who reminded him of his father. Soon afterwards at a wedding reception for Clarence Reid in January 1973, KC was exposed to junkanoo, the highly festive, heavily rhythmic, horn-punctuated musical genre that originated in the Bahamas. Later while accompanying TK artist Timmy Thomas to a Washington, D.C., concert as his assistant and booking agent, KC got an idea for a song after hearing the audience approvingly blowing whistles. The song, "Blow Your Whistle," was KC and Finch's first professional recording and went to number 27 R&B in September 1973. While cutting a demo on one of their unrecorded original songs, KC and Finch decided that the song was in a key that was too high for KC's singing range. 

Steve Alaimo & Henry Stone

Stone and TK A&R man Steve Alaimo suggested that they give the song to singer George McCrae. 

Henry Stone & George McCrae

Released in early summer 1974, "Rock Your Baby" rolled quickly up the charts, holding the number one spot on both the R&B and pop charts for two weeks during July 1974. The worldwide sales of "Rock Your Baby" totaled over six million singles. KC and the Sunshine Band's second single, "Sound Your Funky Horn," did a little better than their first, going to number 21 R&B in February 1974. With an approving nod from TK, KC and Finch brought in lead guitarist Jerome Smith, drummer Robert Johnson, and conga player Femin Goytisolo. 

The band's debut LP Do It Good garnered little attention in the U.S. but took off in Europe due in part to "Queen of Clubs," which was a Top Ten hit in both England and Germany. A band was hastily assembled for a European tour in 1975 and expanded to include eight more musicians and singers. The fourth single, "Get Down Tonight," took off, hitting number one R&B in April 1975 and held the number one pop for two weeks in August 1975. 

Their second album, KC and the Sunshine Band, was released in July 1975. To capitalize on the band's success, TK released instrumental singles by the Sunshine Band. An instrumental album, The Sound of Sunshine, was released in 1979. "That's the Way I Like It," another single from their self-titled album, echoed the success of "Get Down...," hitting both number one R&B and pop in 1975. The LP went multi-platinum. 

In 1976, the band won five Grammys. "(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty" was the group's third number one hit, topping the R&B charts for a month during July. The mega-platinum-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack included KC and the Sunshine Band's "Boogie Shoes." The band selling tens of millions of records brought prestige to the little independent record label based in Hialeah, FL, no doubt bolstering other acts on the label. 

Other TK Top Ten hits from that period include: Little Beaver's (aka Willie Hale) "Party Down" and Peter Brown's "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me," "Dance With Me," and "Crank It Up (Funk Town) Pt. 1." 

In 1979, crooner Bobby Caldwell signed with TK Records. It seemed an odd signing at the time, as the label was the home to disco/soul/blues-oriented artists and Caldwell was a jazzy, romantic balladeer. No matter, since Caldwell's first single, "What You Won't Do for Love," climbed to number six R&B and number nine pop in the fall of 1978. Several tracks from his albums were in heavy rotation on R&B-oriented FM stations. Later, Caldwell and his manager Henry Marx started Sindrome Records, buying the rights from TK and reissuing the albums and new Caldwell material perfectly suited for the smooth jazz radio format. 

Anita Ward

TK also struck gold with Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell." Written and produced by artist Frederick Knight ("I've Been Lonely So Long"), "Ring My Bell" rung its way up to the number one R&B spot in just six weeks and stayed there for five weeks. The catchy track stayed at number one pop for two weeks during summer 1979. "Ring My Bell" started a trend with its use of a "boingy" syndrome with several acts duplicating the sound on numerous records that came after it. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince did a million-selling Top Twenty R&B/pop cover of the tune in 1991. 

Gwen MacCrae

George McCrae's wife Gwen MacCrae had three hits: "For Your Love," the number one R&B "Rockin' Chair," and "Love Insurance." 

Foxy

Rock group Foxy's "Get Off" was number one R&B for two weeks in summer 1978.

Around the end of the '70s, KC and Finch and TK began to have conflicts. Some say that this was reflected in the relatively poor chart showings of their releases. Of course, it also could have meant that public tastes were changing. The title track of KC and the Sunshine Band's fifth album Do You Wanna Go Party (June 1979) went to number eight R&B in 1979....  Ed Hogan - AMG Biography

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