"Tonight" by Kool & the Gang

Word up Dialophiles! Kick back, chill, and let the Dial transport you to the era of Members Only jackets, oversized earrings, and neon friendship bracelets via the pop/soul nugget “Tonight” by Kool & the Gang! 

My sixteenth birthday I was so shy… Not yet a man but ready to try. Music playin', people swayin'… I looked around she caught my eye… 

Featuring the lead vocals of James “J T” Taylor, and tenor sax and bass from brothers Ronald and Robert “Kool” Bell, “Tonight” is a recollection of the narrator’s sexual awakening, which occurred at a party on his 16th birthday, no less! A presumably older, certainly more confident woman seduces the young man, leading to the amazing night he recounts in this tasty jam. Quite the birthday present, no question about that!

To soften what could have been a controversial topic, the time-tested practice of substituting dancing as a metaphor for lovemaking is used here. Kids will hear lyrics about swaying on the dance floor, while older listeners understand it to be about something saucier. 

Hey, beautiful girl so lovely tonight… Show me the way show me the light. Music playin', people swayin'… Next thing I knew we started to groove. 

Kool & The Gang pursued several interesting musical phases during their career. Their initial late ‘60s output reflected jazz leanings, but by the mid ‘70s, they switched to funk; the classics “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging” date from this period. Then came the late ‘70s/early ‘80s disco influenced hits “Ladies Night”, “Too Hot”, and “Celebration”. Once the MTV era of the mid ‘80s was underway, Kool & the Gang revived yet again, this time as a slick r&b/rock hybrid educated equally by adult contemporary (“Joanna”, “Cherish”), and breakdancing / early hip-hop vibes. (“Fresh”, “Misled”)

Taken from the 1983 In the Heart LP, and reaching a chart position of US #13 in early ‘84, “Tonight” was a part of a block of eight consecutive Billboard Top 20 pop singles containing the aforementioned single-word hits.

Unlike most songs featured on the Radio Dial, which I’ve tended to enjoy consistently since their original release dates, “Tonight” had completely left my memory by my late 80s high school years. It wasn’t until I heard it by chance about two years ago on a friend’s Rhapsody playlist, that the memories of hearing this jam back then came flooding back. That night, I added the song, and most of the rest of Kool & the Gang’s 80s hits to my own playlist.

Now, based on lyrics ALONE, a reasonable interpretation of the song would say that it is truly about nothing more than dancing and falling in love. However, the music video makes the birthday seduction interpretation quite clear, as party guests grow increasingly wild and animalistic as they surround Taylor and his amorous inamorata. There’s also something about a comet passing over the western hemisphere, the relevance of which is unclear, but I’d rather just invite you to watch and listen to this piece of quality tunage, right here, on Kyle’s Radio Dial! 

Tonight, oooh… This is the night you'll see the light… That's what she said to me.