Spirit of the Boogie

“Spirit of the Boogie” is a funk/soul song recorded by Kool & the Gang as the title track for their 1975 album. With growling vocals and effects from Kool & the Gang’s technician Donal Boyce, aka “The Boogie Man,” this funky soul number is a call back to the group’s 1973 hit “Jungle Boogie,” but with an edge. Ronald Bell, the Gang’s musical director and saxophonist, told Blues & Soul in 1975: “We were trying to get a harder sound using double bass – synthesizer bass and Kool’s bass. It was also an experimentation with close harmonies on the horns.”