Musical career

Harry Wayne Casey formed his band in 1973. He was introduced to Richard Finch, who was doing engineering work on records for TK. This was the beginning of the Casey-Finch musical collaboration. The initial members were just Casey and Finch. Guitarist Jerome Smith (June 18, 1953 - July 28, 2000) and drummer Robert Johnson, both TK studio musicians were later added.

The first few songs, "Blow Your Whistle" (September 1973) and "Sound Your Funky Horn" (February 1974), were released as singles, and did well enough on the U.S. R&B chart and overseas that TK wanted a follow up single and album. However, while working on demos for KC & the Sunshine Band the song, "Rock Your Baby" (George McCrae) was created. The band's "Queen of Clubs" was a hit in the UK, peaking at No. 7, and they went on tour there in 1975.

KC and the Sunshine Band broke big in the United States in 1975 with "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way (I Like It)." Other Casey-Finch favorites include "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty," "I'm Your Boogie Man," "Keep It Comin' Love" and "Please Don't Go." "Boogie Shoes" appeared on the soundtrack album for Saturday Night Fever. He also joined Teri DeSario on her hit "Yes, I'm Ready" in 1979. Casey also part-wrote "I Ain't Lyin'" (a UK hit for George McCrae in late 1975).

As a result of the soaring popularity of New Wave and Synthpop in the early 1980s, Casey dissolved the Sunshine Band and recorded several pop-oriented solo albums. In January 1982, he survived a serious car accident - the car he was driving was hit head-on. He was left partially paralyzed for six months, and had to re-learn how to walk, dance, and play the piano, but by the end of the year he was back in the recording studio. "Give It Up", was released as a solo hit, shot to Number One in the UK (but his U.S. label, Epic, refused to release it) however, it was a Top 20 hit in the United States (1984), when issued on the independent Meca label. In the mid-1990s, due to the revived interest in the music and fashions of the 1970s, Casey re-formed the Sunshine Band.

Personal life

Casey was born on January 31, 1951 in Hialeah, Florida, to a father of Irish descent and a mother of Italian (Pentone CZ and Gimigliano CZ, Calabria) descent. He grew up in the Greater Miami area.

Discography

• Do It Good (1974)
• KC and the Sunshine Band (1975)
• The Sound of Sunshine (1975)
• Part 3 (1976)
• Who Do Ya Love (1978)
• Do You Wanna Go Party (1979)
• Space Cadet (1981)
• The Painter (1981)
• All in a Night's Work (1982)
• KC Ten (1983)
• Oh Yeah! (1993)
• I'll Be There for You (2001)
• Yummy (2007)

Selected compilations

• Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1980) (compilation)
• The Best of KC and the Sunshine Band (1990) (compilation)
• Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1990) (compilation)
• KC and the Sunshine Band...and More (1994)
• Part 3...and More (1995)
• Get Down Live! (1995) (live)
• Shake, Shake, Shake and Other Hits (1997)
• I'm Your Boogie Man and Other Hits (1997)
• Yummy in my tummy (1998) (live)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]