Something Special (Kool & the Gang album)

Something Special
Studio album by Kool and the Gang
Released	September 28, 1981
Recorded	1981 at House of Music, West Orange, New Jersey Overdubs at Kendun Recorders, Los Angeles, California and Secret Sound Studios, New York City, New York
Genre	Post-disco, urban, funk, R&B
Length	36:18
Label	De-Lite Records
Producer	Eumir Deodato
Kool and the Gang chronology
Celebrate! (1980) Something Special (1981) As One (1982)

Something Special is the thirteenth studio album by the funk band Kool and the Gang, released in 1981.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

While it did not live up to the same level of success that the band's previous two albums brought, it still contained two hit singles: "Take My Heart" went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 17 on the Pop chart. "Get Down On It" reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the Pop chart. In addition, "Steppin' Out" ended up at No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 89 on the Pop chart.^[2] In the UK, the album reached #10,^[3] becoming their first hit album there and most successful studio album of all, largely due to the success of the "Get Down On It" single.

Track listing

Side 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Steppin' Out"	James "J.T." Taylor, Ronald Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:51
2.	"Good Time Tonight"	Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:59
3.	"Take My Heart"	Claydes Smith, George Brown, Taylor, Kool & the Gang	4:01
4.	"Be My Lady"	Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:14

Side 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Get Down on It"	Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:58
2.	"Pass It On"	Brown, Taylor, Kool & the Gang	4:34
3.	"Stand Up and Sing"	Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:35
4.	"No Show"	Brown, Taylor, Bell, Kool & the Gang	4:25

CD reissue bonus track[4]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"Stop!"	Bell, Kool & the Gang	3:22

Personnel

• Bass, backing vocals – Robert "Kool" Bell
• Lead Guitar – Charles Smith
• Saxophone, keyboards, backing vocals – Ronald Bell
• Drums, backing vocals – George Brown
• Lead and backing vocals – James "J.T." Taylor
• Alto saxophone – Dennis Thomas
• Alto saxophone, flute, backing vocals – Steve Greenfield
• Trombone – Clifford Adams
• Trumpet, backing vocals – Michael Ray, Robert Mickens
• Keyboards – Brian Jackson
• Keyboards – Eumir Deodato
• Additional percussion – Jimmy Maelen
• Additional handclaps – Platinum Hook
• Backing vocals – Clifford Adams, Cynthia Huggins, Joan Motley, Kelly Barretto

Production

• Engineer – Jim Bonnefond
• Assistant engineers – Bobby Scott Cohen, Cliff Hodson, Joe DeAngelis, Julian Robertson
• Overdubs engineers – Bob "Ziggy" Winard, Mallory Earl
• Mixed by – Eumir Deodato, Jim Bonnefond, Gabe Vigorito
• Mastered by – Tom Coyne, Stephan Galfas (Assistant)
• Producer – Eumir Deodato
• Associate producer – Kool & The Gang

Charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Billboard Pop Albums[5]	12
Billboard Top Soul Albums[5]	1
UK Albums Chart[3]	10

Singles

Year	Single	US chart positions[2]			UK chart positions [6]
		Hot 100	R&B	Dance
1981	"Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)"	17	1	16	29
1982	"Get Down On It"	10	4	—	3
	"Steppin' Out"	89	12	—	12

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1981 (U.S.)

References

1. Lytle, Craig. Kool and the Gang: Something Special > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
2. Kool & The Gang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
3. "Something Special". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
4. Kool & The Gang – Something Special CD remastered reissue at Discogs
5. Kool & the Gang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
6. "Kool and the Gang". ChartCtats.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 29 October 2011.

External links

• Kool & The Gang - Something Special at Discogs (list of releases)