Yes, we’ve just gone and declared this week Kon Kan Week here at Popdose. Seeing as the duo nicked their name from the Canadian Content requirement for broadcast media up north, it’s only fair you get your dose of Kontent this week. Since the illustrious Mr. Steed featured Kon Kan’s failed follow-up to their only hit, “I Beg Your Pardon” yesterday, let’s look at the group’s last gasp in the U.S. as the ’90s dawned.
“Liberty!” (download) was the first single from Kon Kan’s second album, 1990’s Syntonic, which saw the project reduced to founder Barry Harris and a rotating cast of supporting characters, seeing as vocalist Kevin Wynne split the year prior. “Liberty!” was “I Beg Your Pardon” redux, only with an original chorus as opposed to the “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” sample which made that song a Top 15 hit. Usually xeroxing your biggest hit is a sure-fire way to sneak back into the Top 40, but it didn’t work this time, as “Liberty!” failed to chart.
While it was a fun synthpop song, “Liberty!” was woefully out of step with what was hot in 1990, as synthpop started taking a backseat to glam metal, straight-ahead dance music and the beginning of the grunge movement. Harris would release one more album as Kon Kan in 1993 before changing his professional nom de plume to “Thunderpuss” (or “Thunderpuss 2000,” if you prefer), becoming one of the most sought-after remixers, scoring Number One hit after hit on the dance charts throughout the ’90s.
“Liberty!” did not chart.
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We have our first-ever request at Bottom Feeders. A few weeks ago it was requested in the comments that I include Kon Kan’s “Puss ‘n Boots” in a future post — so here it is! Of course, that’s just the way the ball bounces, since you could pick up the Billboard Hot 100 book and predict every post of the rest of the series and write them up far better than I ever could, way before I do. Hey, don’t get any ideas now. Look me in the eyes. Mine. Mine. Got it?
Kool & the Gang have to rank as the second-greatest R&B act of the ’80s, right behind Michael Jackson, and they’re not even that far behind. Over their career they’ve had 32 songs hit the Hot 100, with another ten for good measure if you count the R&B chart. The greatest thing about Kool & the Gang is that they didn’t really drop off like most R&B/funk artists did by the mid- to late ’80s. Cameo and the Gap Band really started creating crap and almost remaking their own tunes by the close of the decade while Kool & the Gang remained fresh throughout. Of these three “Steppin’ Out” is certainly the most recognizable of the group, though even “Holiday” and “Special Way” are well known. I could listen to Kool & the Gang all day, every day and never get tired of them. They are quite a high point for me in the ’80s.