KC & The Sunshine Band want to keep the fun alive this summer as they headline the 34th annual Quickchek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning.
READINGTON - KC & The Sunshine Band are still as widely popular as they were when they first entered into the music scene 40 years ago.
The band will perform on Saturday at the 34th annual QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning at 8 p.m. following that evening's mass hot air balloon ascension.
It may be the booty shaking No. 1 hits like "That's The Way (I Like It)," or "Get Down Tonight," or maybe it's the unique fusion of R&B and funk wrapped into one sound that have kept the band relevant after all these years.
Harry Wayne Casey, KC for short, believes it's the music alone that has kept them alive and thriving, even among the younger generation of today.
"It's the music that connects me and it's the music that connects us all," Casey said. "It is what brings everyone together."
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Casey has led the group from the very beginning. It all began in Florida while Casey was working at a record store and met Henry Stone, co-founder of TK Records. In 1973, Casey signed a contract and formed KC & The Sunshine Band.
Casey said the label was known for their producing one-hit wonders, leaving him with no idea that his music and the band would continue to big a hit maker for years to come.
"I was just making music that made me feel good and I wanted other people to feel good too. I never knew I would change all of music and make that kind of impact," Casey said.
The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, won three Grammy Awards, the American Music Award for Best R&B Artist and was the first band since the Beatles to score four Billboard Number One singles in one 12-month period.
In 2015, for the first time in over a decade, the band released a new album, "Feeling You! The 60s." The album was a tribute to the era that shaped Casey, influencing him and helping the band to be at the forefront of the Boogie movement.
Casey said the songs he picked for the album are songs he felt spoke about his life over the past 65 years. Some were just fun to do, and others he had a personal connection to.
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"One song that is on there is, 'Always Something There to Remind Me.' People have come and gone out of my life. Every time I am going to different places, I am seeing things that remind me of those days and people that were in my life," Casey said.
This is one of the songs that fans can expect to hear from KC & The Sunshine Band at the festival. Casey said they will be bringing an hour and a half of high-energy, playing all of their hits and a couple of songs from their new album.
"We've come to have a good time and hopefully bring back some old memories, create new ones, and celebrate life - the good life," he said.
Also on July 29, the day before the band preforms on stage at the balloon festival, Casey said he will be releasing a new single: "We Belong Together." For now, he plans to keep the fun alive and continue to make music while enjoying life.
"I have no pressure," he said. "I let (the wind) take me where it's going. I'm just here to enjoy the ride."