June 29, 2023 – NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Primary Wave Music (PWM) has partnered with the legendary songwriter, drummer, producer and Founding Member of Kool & The Gang – George Brown.
PWM has acquired a take in the Grammy winner’s music publishing catalog, writer’s share, and writer’s share of public performance. Brown was one of the primary songwriters for the legendary R&B group. As a Kool & The Gang member, Brown has been awarded two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards. The band has sold over 70 million albums worldwide, has been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and, in 2018, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008 they were also honored by the Living Legends Foundation.
The multi-million-dollar deal encompasses some of Brown’s and Kool & The Gang’s biggest hits, including twenty-five Top 10 R&B hits and nine Top 10 pop hits. Classics such as “Hollywood Swinging,” which was their first No. 1 on the R&B Charts, “Jungle Boogie,” which was ranked as the No. 12 song for 1974 by Billboard, “Cherish,” which was the biggest Adult Contemporary chart hit of the 80s, and the No. 1 hit “Ladies Night” which was a radio staple the year it was released, are all included. The song was also their first major hit in the United Kingdom.
The new partnership also includes one of the band’s most well-known songs, “Celebration.” Released in 1980, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent six weeks atop the R&B chart, and has since been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Kool & The Gang’s songs have been featured in several films over the years, and their music has been sampled by everyone from Mase to De La Soul to A Tribe Called Quest to Nas.
With the deal, Brown will access Primary Wave’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, including digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities, and film and TV production.
“I am very pleased to call Primary Wave my music partner and to join with dozens of other iconic artists and creatives in an incredible business family,” said Brown. “I look forward to collaborating with Larry Mestel and the Primary Wave team to further enhance my catalog and the Kool & The Gang brand.”
Kendall A. Minter adds, “As counsel to George Brown and Astana Music, it was my pleasure to initiate, negotiate and close this deal with Primary Wave. The alignment of a globally iconic artist and creative talent with an iconic, global independent music publisher and brand enhancer is a win-win for the entire music community and fans.”
“Kool and the Gang’s influence on generations of musicians and fans around the globe cannot be denied,” said Samantha Rhulen, SVP, Business and Legal Affairs at Primary Wave Music. She says, “A few of us from Primary Wave were excited to have been in the audience when they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, and we are thrilled to now be partnering with George Brown in 2023.”
Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history, and their funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled R&B band of all time. A reviewer recently called their performance “a 24-karat show,” and every year, even after a half-century on the road, yields a non-stop schedule of shows across the globe. The heavily-in-demand band has continued to tour the world.
