This Day in History : [ 22 / Nov ]

KC and the Sunshine band top the U.S. pop charts with “That’s The Way (I Like It)”

One of the most popular American pop groups of its time KC and the Sunshine Band earned the second of their five 1 pop hits on this day in 1975 when Thats The Way (I Like It) reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100.With their breakthrough single Get Down Tonight (1975) having implored listeners to Do a little dance andMake a little love KC and the Sunshine Bands follow-up mined very much the same territory with its driving danceable beat and its frank declaration Thats the wayUh-huh Uh-huhI like iUh-HuhNew York Times review of one of the groups live appearances KC has the stage presence and the musical ability to bridge the cultural chasm separating white performers and black listeners as well as between black music and white audiences.Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch first began working together musically as low-level employees at a small Hialeah-based record label called T.K.Their big break came in 1974 when a struggling T.K.artist named George McCrae overheard an instrumental track Casey and Finch had recorded on their own and volunteered his services as a singer.

In just two takes McCrae recorded the vocal track on a record called Rock Your Baby which was released in the spring of 1974 and went on to sell upwards of 3 million copies on its way to becoming a 1 pop hit.Following the success of Rock Your Baby Casey and Finch released an album called Do It Good that failed to find a large audience but their second studio album KC and the Sunshine Band (1975) was a multi-platinum smash that included both of the groups first two 1 pop hits as well as a third major hit in Boogie Shoes.