Harry Wayne Casey

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Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey (born January 31, 1951 as Harold Wayne Casey) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is most famous for his group, KC and the Sunshine Band and as a producer of several hits for other artists.

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[edit] Early years

Born in Opa-Locka, Florida, to an Irish-American father and an Italian-American mother, Casey became interested in music at an early age. As a teenager he played and sang with several local bands and played piano at the Pentecostal church his family attended. He studied music at Miami-Dade Community College and worked part-time in a record store. He noticed often that customers would come in not remembering the titles of the records they wanted, and the store would lose the sale--this is the reason so many of his songs repeat their titles over and over.

While working at the record store, Casey often made deliveries to the headquarters of TK Records in Hialeah, and spent so much time visiting the studio that eventually he was hired to work in the warehouse. TK's house bass player was Richard Finch, and he and Casey along with other musicians formed KC and the Sunshine Junkanoo Band in 1973. Casey played electric piano and sang lead with the group. Casey and Finch (also the only white members of the group) also formed a songwriting and producing partnership, and in 1974 had their first Number One hit as songwriters with George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby." Casey and Finch also wrote and produced songs for Betty Wright and Jimmy "Bo" Horne.

[edit] Musical career

The re-named KC and the Sunshine Band had some success in the UK in 1974 with "Queen of Clubs," then 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 dissolved the Sunshine Band in the early 1980s 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 and was a Top 20 hit in the United States (1984). But musical tastes had changed, and Casey retired (temporarily) from the music business in 1985.

In the mid-90s, due to the revived interest in the music and fashions of the 70s, Casey re-formed the Sunshine Band. He plays up to 200 dates a year throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and has also toured England, Italy, Australia and South America. He also continues to produce other artists and is active in charity work in his native Miami.

Casey's music remains a touchstone of the 70s. His up-tempo, danceable songs with repetitive lyrics, catchy, bright horn lines and a touch of Cuban percussion still draw crowds and continue to be popular in movies, TV commercials, and at sporting events.



[edit] Discography

[edit] Selected Compilations

[edit] References

  • Craig MacInnis, "That's the Way I Like It (The Harry Wayne Casey Story)", Team Power Publishing, 2002, ISBN 2-89568-059-0

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Wayne_Casey"
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