63-664: Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group . Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. The company, founded in 1811 as Chappell & Co. , was a British music publishing company and instrument shop in Bond Street , London , that specialised in piano manufacturing. In 1929, Warner Bros. acquired M. Witmark & Sons , Remick Music Corporation and Harms, Inc. Tamerlane Music
126-578: A Jersey City street was renamed the "Kool and the Gang Way". During 2019 Kool and the Gang was also bestowed with the Marian Anderson Award . In 2021, the group released Perfect Union , their 25th studio album and first album of new material in 14 years. The album was produced by Khalis Bayyan before his 2020 death. On November 20, 2022, the group performed a special live concert at the naming ceremony for
189-462: A publishing contract , a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists , film and television. The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of
252-412: A choreographer at Prince 's studio at Paisley Park . At the time of the tour's start, the group ceased producing adverts with Schlitz beer because of their new image towards children and that they felt it had run its course. After the tour, Taylor left Kool & the Gang to pursue a solo career. He returned in 1996 for their State of Affairs album. In February 1988, news of Taylor's departure from
315-492: A dedicated lead vocalist to become a focal point of their music. James "J.T." Taylor from South Carolina was added; Taylor noted that vocals added more warmth to the songs, especially to ballads, which the group had previously avoided as no vocalist in the group could sing them properly. He recalled some resistance to his arrival from some group members and the female singers they had used on The Force and Everybody's Dancin ' . The change in style developed further when
378-719: A fraction of what it was worth – or earned in the following years. A large factor in the Beatles' breakup was when their publisher Dick James sold his share of Northern Songs , the company they'd formed with him in 1963 (then taken public in 1967, with shares trading on the London Stock Exchange ), to Britain's Associated TeleVision (ATV) in 1969. Neither the Beatles nor managers Lee Eastman and Allen Klein were able to prevent ATV from becoming majority stockholders in Northern Songs, whose assets included virtually all
441-474: A given artist or writer, financially and emotionally. R&B legend Little Richard was largely cheated on his music publishing and copyrights, as were many performers. Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys were crushed to learn that Murry Wilson (father to three of the Beach Boys, Love's uncle, and the band's music publisher) had sold their company Sea of Tunes to A&M Records during 1969 for
504-423: A monetization claim against a fanfilm created by Star Wars YouTube channel Star Wars Theory , but rescinded the claim two days later after intervention by Lucasfilm Ltd. on behalf of outraged fans. In May 2019, Warner Chappell Music was again criticized for filing overly broad copyright claims, concerning a large number of YouTube videos by Minecraft Youtuber Mumbo Jumbo, who has more than 8 million subscribers, for
567-583: A significant portion of their concert audience were women. Roth wanted the group after seeing their set at Glastonbury. In 2013 the group released a Christmas album Kool for the Holidays . That was the group's 24th studio album. In 2015, 50 years after formation, the group received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During that year they were also inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame . In 2016,
630-556: A single term. The group's seventeenth album, Forever , was released in November 1986. The album included two hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Victory" (US #10, R&B #2) and " Stone Love " (US #10, R&B #4). Two further singles, "Holiday" and "Special Way" were also released from the album; the former reached the top ten on the R&;B Chart, the latter hit reached No. 6 on
693-405: A supporting act for Van Halen in 2012 and their fiftieth-anniversary tour in 2014. Kool & the Gang have won numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards , seven American Music Awards , and, in 2006, a Music Business Association Chairman's Award for artistic achievement. The group has been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame and been given a MOBO Award for Outstanding Achievement,
SECTION 10
#1732876055359756-456: A visit to Phonogram 's offices in London, Bob Geldof arrived to pitch his idea of the multi-artist charity single " Do They Know It's Christmas? " to the label. Kool & the Gang participated in the project. In 1985, Bell said the group retained control of their own business affairs, avoiding to hire management on a full-time basis and preferring to hire consultants and agents for each project or
819-562: A weekly jazz night held in a local theatre every Sunday. They also played occasionally with McCoy Tyner , Pharoah Sanders , and Leon Thomas during their early years as a group. They then had several name changes, including "the Soul Town Band" and "the New Dimensions". They played Motown covers as the backing musicians for Soul Town, a small Jersey City-based organization similar to Motown. In 1967, they became regular performers at
882-553: The 1980 World Series , the 1981 Super Bowl , the 1981 NBA Finals , and the 1981 return of the Iran hostages . After the release of Something Special (1981), which continued the level of success of the previous two albums, the band recorded their fourth and final album with Deodato, As One (1982). The latter struggled to reach gold certification in the US, which led to the band's decision to end their time with Deodato as they had enough with
945-636: The Gene Autry Music Group, comprising four music publishers, 1,500 compositions (including " Back in the Saddle Again ", " Here Comes Santa Claus ", " Just Walkin' in the Rain ", and " You Belong To Me "), and several of Autry's master recordings. In July 2021, Warner Chappell opened its first office in Vietnam. On January 3, 2022, Variety reported that the estate of English musician David Bowie had sold
1008-898: The Soul Train Legend Award , the Marian Anderson Award , and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . In 2007, the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame . Throughout 2018, the Bells, Brown, and Taylor were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Their discography includes 23 studio albums and nearly 70 singles. They have sold 7.5 million and 4.5 million Recording Industry Association of America -certified albums and singles, respectively, in
1071-648: The UK R&;B Albums chart. During 2007 the group released another album entitled Still Kool . The album reached No. 31 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. Still Kool has also been certified Platinum in France by the SNEP . In 2012, Bell accepted Van Halen singer David Lee Roth 's invitation for Kool & the Gang to be the opening act during their A Different Kind of Truth Tour as Roth had noticed
1134-649: The Adult Contemporary chart. By 1986, the group had scored 14 top 40 singles in the US since 1980, more than Michael Jackson . In July 1986, the group recorded a special version of "Celebration" with different vocals that was used in an advertisement for Wendy's . In 1987, the group completed a 50-city tour of the US. The tour included the group establishing their own public service program, devised by Robert Bell and Taylor, which encouraged school children to pursue education, giving free tickets to those with perfect attendance. The group rehearsed their stage show with
1197-872: The Blue Note Lounge in Jersey, where one of the emcees advertised them with a new name, Kool & the Flames. However, since their manager, Gene Redd, advised against taking this name to avoid confusion with James Brown 's band, the Famous Flames , the band settled on Kool & the Gang instead. After selecting the new band name and line-up, Kool & the Gang signed a recording deal with Redd's new independent label, De-Lite Records . Redd wrote: "I discovered these eight super talented incomparable young musicians, [...and...] I immediately realized that their potential would earn them success unknown by most musicians". The group entered
1260-689: The Gang added Larry Gittens from the Stylistics , and released Spirit of the Boogie which contained the top 40 single " Spirit of the Boogie ". That was followed by the part-studio part-live release Love & Understanding , in 1976. By mid-1976, however, Kool & the Gang entered a period of commercial decline. Rolling Stone writer Geoff Himes wrote the fans "frowned on their loose and greasy approach to dance music." Their three albums released during this time, Open Sesame (1976), The Force (1977), and Everybody's Dancin' (1978) failed to generate
1323-442: The Gang pursued elements of hip hop. The album was a compilation of rappers backed by Kool and the Gang remaking some of the group's songs. During 2003 the group was given a Mobo Award for Outstanding Achievement. In 2004 they released another album featuring remakes and some new songs. The Hits Reloaded contained collaborations with artists such as Atomic Kitten , Lisa Stansfield and Jamiroquai . The album reached No. 21 on
SECTION 20
#17328760553591386-425: The Gang sound[...] and the public didn't like it". The change in style affected their ability to secure as many dates as before, working "just off and on" during this time. One review for Everybody's Dancin ' bore the headline, "Kool and the Gang have gone bland." Writer Mike Duffy opined, "They've joined the disco lemmings [...] The edge has gone. Say so long to the raw and raunchy." During their low period,
1449-496: The Gang, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang in 1969. The band's first mainstream success came with the release of their fourth album Wild and Peaceful (1973); it contained the US top-ten singles " Jungle Boogie " and " Hollywood Swinging ". The band entered a period of decline before they reached a second commercial peak between 1979 and 1986 following their partnership with Brazilian musician and producer Eumir Deodato and
1512-559: The Mighty Magnificents which, according to Robert Bell, "Blew us away[...] We thought, 'Wow, if we want to be in show business, we have to change our act. We can't just stand up there and play'." Also at this time, the group were asked to deliver songs with vocals. Despite Bell recalling the group sounding "real ragged" with lyrics at first, "Bit by bit we gained in confidence... we kinda learnt how to sing as we went along." The group followed their debut with two live albums: Live at
1575-527: The Pan European Digital Licensing (P.E.D.L.) initiative. In 2007, when Radiohead released In Rainbows through its website on a pay-what-you-wish model, Warner Chappell Music created a streamlined, one-of-a-kind licensing process for the songs on the album that allowed rights users around the world to secure use of the music from a single location. In 2006, David H. Johnson was elevated to interim CEO and then in 2007 to Chairman & CEO of
1638-556: The Sex Machine , recorded the year before, and Live at PJ's , both released in 1971. These were their final albums before their amicable split with Redd. Their next album, Music Is the Message , was the first time the group self-produced one of their records. It was released in July 1972, and peaked at No. 25 on the R&B chart. It was followed with Good Times in November, which featured
1701-406: The US. It spawned four US top 20 singles, including "Emergency", " Cherish ", " Fresh ", and "Misled". The feat made Kool & the Gang the only group to have four top 20 singles from a single album in 1985. In June 1984, Kool & the Gang took time off from recording Emergency to perform at Wembley Stadium as part of a sold-out summer concert organised by Elton John . That November, during
1764-806: The United States. Worldwide, they have sold over 70 million albums. The band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey , in 1964 when seven school friends decided to perform together as an instrumental jazz and soul group named the Jazziacs. Among them were Robert "Kool" Bell on bass, his brother Ronald Bell on keyboards, Robert "Spike" Mickens on trumpet, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas on saxophone, Ricky West on keyboards, George Brown on drums, and Charles Smith on guitar. Except Smith, all of them attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City. Robert Bell had given himself
1827-573: The addition of singer James "J.T." Taylor to the line-up. Their most successful albums of the time include Ladies' Night (1979), Celebrate! (1980), and Emergency (1984), the latter being their highest-selling album, with two million copies sold in the US. Their hit singles during the period include " Ladies' Night " (1979), the US No. 1 " Celebration " (1980), " Get Down on It " (1981), " Joanna " (1983), " Misled " (1984), and " Cherish " (1985). The group has continued to perform worldwide, including as
1890-504: The age of 62 after a year-long battle with cancer. Adams, who had been with Kool & the Gang since 1977, had no health insurance to cover medical expenses. Saxophonist Ronald "Khalis Bayyan" Bell died suddenly in September 2020; the cause of death was not announced. Alto saxophonist Dennis "D.T." Thomas died in his sleep on August 7, 2021, at the age of 70. Drummer George “Funky” Brown died from lung cancer on November 16, 2023, at
1953-630: The band backed by a string section. The elements of jazz, rock, and instrumental styles on the record made it difficult for reviewers to categorize the band by genre. Since the album failed to generate the radio exposure the group had hoped for, they began to explore how to build a following without relying on airplay. By the spring of 1973, Kool & the Gang was influenced by the growing disco music scene, driving it to create sound Robert Bell described as "a much harder, funkier, tighter" unit than before. He said band members mostly learned of disco culture from others, and didn't frequent discotheques. With
Warner Chappell Music - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-469: The change in musical direction came the band's first major commercial success. Their fourth studio album, Wild and Peaceful , went to No. 33 on the album chart. The album was certified "gold" by RIAA for selling 500,000 copies. It also spawned the Top-40 single "Funky Stuff". The album's next two singles, " Jungle Boogie " and " Hollywood Swinging ", fared even better by entering the US top 10. This also marked
2079-580: The company. In November 2006, Disney Music Publishing and Warner Chappell agreed to a licensing agreement for Europe and South America major markets. In 2007, the company acquired Non-Stop Music. Additionally, in 2010 it acquired 615 Music , a Nashville-based production music company, and subsequently united all the production music companies under the name Warner Chappell Production Music in 2012. In 2011, it acquired Southside Independent Music Publishing, whose songwriters included Bruno Mars , Brody Brown, and J.R. Rotem. In July 2012, Warner/Chappell purchased
2142-422: The composer. Music print publishers also supervise the issue of songbooks and sheet music by their artists. Traditionally, music publishing royalties are split seventy/thirty, with thirty percent going to the publisher (as payment for their services) and the rest going to the songwriter or songwriters. Other arrangements have been made in the past, and continue to be; some better for the writers, some better for
2205-483: The direction they had adopted. They then decided to produce their next album, In the Heart (1983), by themselves with Jim Bonnefond as co-producer. The album contained the US top-five single " Joanna ". The song was declared the most-played pop song in 1984 by Broadcast Music International. Bonnefond stayed with the group for Emergency (1984), which remains their highest selling album with over two million copies sold in
2268-436: The group entered a four-album association with Brazilian musician, songwriter, and arranger Eumir Deodato as their producer, who helped them move towards mainstream pop and dance-oriented music with greater emphasis on catchy hooks and chorus lines. The group's first choice, Stevie Wonder , was too busy to work with them. Earl Toon Jr. was added to the group. Kool & the Gang's first album with Deodato, Ladies' Night ,
2331-497: The group gained some mainstream attention with their contribution of "Open Sesame" to the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever (1977). " Summer Madness " was also used in Rocky (1976), but not released on its soundtrack album. By 1979, Kool & the Gang changed musical direction in two distinct ways. After several years of consideration, and at the suggestion of promoter turned SOLAR Records founder Dick Griffey , they brought in
2394-435: The group to pursue a solo career was reported in the press. The group had discussed pursuing solo projects during the previous year, with Thomas suggesting the band had considered splitting into twos or threes. Taylor was replaced by three vocalists: Sennie "Skip" Martin, Odeen Mays, and Gary Brown. In 1989 the group's 18th album Sweat was released. By that time Khalis Bayyan and Robert "Spike" Mickens also had departed
2457-486: The group's breakthrough to a white audience. The latter two songs sold over one million copies and were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ). Their success continued with Light of Worlds (1974), which contained the hit instrumental " Summer Madness ". In October 1974, the group landed a spot on the national television music show Soul Train . In 1975 Kool &
2520-637: The group's original keyboardist, who left in 1976 to form his own band, died in 1985. Guitarist Charles Smith died after a long illness in 2006 and was replaced by the Bells' youngest brother, Amir Bayyan, former leader of the Kay Gees . Original trumpet player Robert "Spike" Mickens, who retired in 1986 due to poor health, died at the age of 59 on November 2, 2010, at a nursing home in Far Rockaway, New York. Trombonist Clifford Alanza Adams Jr. died in January 2015 at
2583-996: The group's song copyrights. Losing control of the company, John Lennon and Paul McCartney elected to sell their share of Northern Songs (and thus their own copyrights), while retaining their writer's royalties. ( George Harrison and Ringo Starr retained minority holdings in the company.) Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B , soul , and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey , in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell (also known as "Khalis Bayyan"), Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas , Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith , George Brown, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz , rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco , rock , and pop music. The group changed their name several times. Settling on Kool &
Warner Chappell Music - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-457: The group. The album did not fare well. Unite , the group's nineteenth studio album, was released in 1992. It marked the return of Khalis Bayyan to the group. In 1995, Taylor returned to the group for State of Affairs (1996), hailed as the group's "comeback" album. All of the songs on the album were written by Khalis Bayyan and Taylor. Taylor left the group for the second time in 1999. On their next studio album Gangland (2001), Kool &
2709-399: The largest catalogue of OPM music, including the international hits such as "Anak" by Freddie Aguilar and "Pangako Sa'yo" by Vina Morales . Music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music . Music publishers originally published sheet music . When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in
2772-468: The late artist's publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music, "for a price upwards of $ 250 million". On January 20, 2022, Warner Chappell signed a worldwide publishing agreement with ABS-CBN Music, the umbrella organization that houses the record label Star Music and its sub-labels, StarPop, Tarsier Records, DNA Music, and Old School Records. One of the biggest music producers in the Philippines, it has
2835-486: The latter company of underpaying Warner Music for the royalties of the 20th Century Fox catalogue, which Warner acquired in 1982, as well as the rights to Curtis Mayfield and Kool and the Gang . This controversy arises from EMI's acquisition of Robbins and Feist in the early 1990s. On January 9, 2019, Guy Moot was named CEO of Warner Chappell Music. He and Carianne Marshall , the company's COO, were appointed co-chairs. On January 15, 2019, Warner Chappell Music filed
2898-473: The lead single " Celebration " remains the band's only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song originated from the lyric "Come on, let's all celebrate" from "Ladies' Night", which inspired Robert Bell to write "an international anthem." The group developed the song on a tour bus after attending the American Music Awards . The song was used in national media coverage for
2961-457: The management of the intellectual property of composers. The term music publisher originally referred to publishers who issued hand-copied or printed sheet music. Examples (who are actively in business as of June 2019 ) include: In the music industry , a music publisher or publishing company is responsible for ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their compositions are used commercially. Through an agreement called
3024-453: The most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a master recording which is typically owned by a record company ). Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset. Successful songwriters and composers have a relationship with a publishing company defined by a publishing contract. Publishers also sometimes provide substantial advances against future income. In return,
3087-440: The music industry. The most unscrupulous type of music publisher is the songshark, who does little if any real "legwork" or promotion on behalf of songwriters. Songsharks make their profit not on royalties from sales, but by charging inexperienced writers for "services" (some real, such as demo recording or musical arranging , some fictional, such as "audition" or "review" fees) a legitimate publisher would provide without cost to
3150-466: The music rights of the film studio Miramax Films . It was ranked in 2010 by Music & Copyright as the world's third-largest music publisher. Among the songs in the company's library are " Winter Wonderland " and formerly " Happy Birthday to You " until the copyright of the song was invalidated in 2015 and put in the public domain the next year. In January 2011, Cameron Strang, founder of New West Records and Southside Independent Music Publishing,
3213-504: The newly christened Carnival Celebration , notably performing “ Celebration ” as a nod to the newest addition to the Carnival fleet. Kool & the Gang were selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2024. The group's music has been featured in several movies and video games: Current members Former members Former session/touring musicians Rick West,
SECTION 50
#17328760553593276-402: The nickname "Kool" as a way of adapting to the street gangs in his neighborhood after moving from Ohio. The Bells' father Bobby and uncle Tommy were boxers. They moved to New York to train and lived in the same apartment building as Thelonious Monk , who became Robert's godfather. Miles Davis would drop by because he wanted to be a boxer. Their first gigs took place as the opening act to
3339-566: The publishers. Occasionally a recording artist will ask for a co-writer's credit on a song (thus sharing in both the artist and publishing royalties) in exchange for selecting it to perform, particularly if the writer is not well known. Sometimes an artist's manager or producer will expect a co-credit or share of the publishing (as with Norman Petty and Phil Spector ), and occasionally a publisher will insist on writer's credit (as Morris Levy did with several of his acts); these practices are listed in ascending order of scrupulousness , as regarded by
3402-523: The publishing company of Thom Bell and Gamble and Huff . The same year, Warner Chappell acquired the Canadian music publisher Gordon V. Thompson Music. In 1994, Warner Bros. Publications expanded its print music operations by acquiring CPP/Belwin. CPP/Belwin had been the former print music arm of Columbia Pictures . In 2005, Warner Chappell Music sold most of its printed music division, Warner Bros. Publications, to Alfred Publishing , and in 2006 launched
3465-436: The publishing company receives a percentage, which can be as high as 50% and varies for different kinds of royalty. There are several types of royalty: Publishers also work to link up new songs by songwriters with suitable recording artists to record them and to place writers' songs in other media such as movie soundtracks and commercials . They will typically also handle copyright registration and "ownership" matters for
3528-409: The same commercial or critical acclaim as their previous records. Bell later said the albums "bent our style a bit, and we didn't feel at home with it". The Force and Everybody's Dancin ' displayed the group's attempt to adopt disco elements with female vocalists and a string section, but Robert Bell later said the group got "Too fancy and over-creative[...] We got away from the basic Kool &
3591-415: The sole reason that the intro song on all of them contained samples of a song that was copyrighted by Warner Chappell Music. The Youtuber had paid for a license to use the song, but it turned out that the samples had not been cleared. He stated that he intended to dispute Warner Chappell Music's claims, but that their large number (around 1800) would make this burdensome. In May 2019, Warner Chappell acquired
3654-461: The studio and recorded their debut album, the all-instrumental Kool and the Gang (1969), with Redd as a producer, arranger, conductor, and partial songwriter. It would be their only album with guitarist Woody Sparrow. The album peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard R&;B chart. Around this time, the group began to develop their stage performance after they witnessed a set by Willie (Feaster) and
3717-490: The writer, as part of their job. (By comparison, a bona fide publisher who charges admission to a workshop for writers, where songs may be auditioned or reviewed, is not wrong to do so.) Rock-n-roll pioneer Buddy Holly split with longtime manager Petty over publishing matters in late 1958, as did the Buckinghams with producer James William Guercio almost a decade later. John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)
3780-560: Was acquired in 1969. Warner Chappell Music was formed in San Antonio, Texas , in 1987, when Warner Music Group Chairman Chuck Kaye led the company to purchase Chappell & Co. from PolyGram (now Universal Music Group) (UMG). In 1988, Warner-Chappell acquired Birch Tree Group (formerly Summy Birchard), publisher of Happy Birthday to You , and the Frances Clark piano method books. In 1990, Warner Chappell acquired Mighty Three Music,
3843-430: Was named CEO of Warner Chappell Music. He was succeeded by former company president Jon Platt in 2016. Warner Chappell acquired Frank Gari 's studio in 2015, adding to its production music library some of the most well-known television news music themes including those for local stations owned by ABC , CBS , and NBC . On June 30, 2017, Warner Chappell Music filed a lawsuit against EMI Music Publishing , accusing
SECTION 60
#17328760553593906-491: Was released in September 1979 and became their most successful album since their formation. This was helped by the hit singles " Too Hot " and " Ladies' Night ", which went to No. 5 and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively. In January 1980, Ladies' Night was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling one million copies in the US. Later that year, Celebrate! became a bigger commercial success than Ladies' Night ;
3969-399: Was sued by his former publisher Saul Zaentz (who'd also served as his manager) over a later Fogerty song that sounded slightly like a CCR song Zaentz published. (Fogerty won in court.) Several bands and artists own (or later purchase) their own publishing, and start their own companies, with or without help from an outside agent. The sale or loss of publishing ownership can be devastating to
#358641