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KID CREOLE was born in 1979. The parent: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. But the parent was also the child. August Darnell was a bassist, lyricist, and background vocalist for Dr. Buzzard. His brother Stony Browder, Jr. was the mastermind, the Doctor, to be exact. Sibling rivalry was the direct cause for the eventual demise of the Savannah Band and the rise of KID CREOLE. The brothers were very competitive and each wanted to prove to the other that he could do it alone. In fact, neither one was really alone. Stony kept Cory Daye, the smooth, sultry vocalist whose dulcet tones and distinct style had already helped the brothers achieve a number one hit “Cherchez La Femme”; August drafted the manic Sugar-Coated Andy Hernandez (who became Coati Mundi) and as a result gained an excellent arranger, incomparable showman and comic-foil (for the legendary live shows.) And so the brothers parted.
Since that day August Darnell has fronted one of the hardest working bands in show business. KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS has played thousands of shows, recorded 12 albums, spawned 4 greatest hits collections, been featured on six film soundtracks, and showcased in three feature films not to mention the countless television shows (from England’s Top Of The Pops to America’s The Tonight Show with prestigious ‘specials’ Something Wrong in Paradise, thrown in for good measure).
Nowadays the only ‘original’ member still aboard the CREOLE schooner is Bongo Eddie. Bongo serves as passionate percussionist, quipster, vocalist and reminder of days gone by. This year marks the band’s 21st anniversary! Quite a feat when you consider how quickly musical tastes change these days. Long gone is the original “COCONUT” line-up (which featured August’s wife, Adriana Kaegi, who created the choreography and the style for the girls – factors, I should point out, that still play a large part in the current show; and to be sure, she is more proof that August was not alone when he jumped ship back in 1979! The ‘new’ girls are still blond, still sexy, still gorgeous, still 5 feet 8 inches tall and still sing and dance simultaneously and effortlessly for hour upon hour (therefore still fulfilling the original requirements set down all those years ago in a small rehearsal studio in New York City). And now, Mr. Darnell, a.k.a. KID CREOLE, after all the gold and platinum albums, all the concerts, all the travels around the world, all the special events, all the accolades and awards….what remains to be done? What is left to achieve?
Perhaps the answer is blowing in the wind. In 1997 August Darnell managed to find himself back in the theatre world he had abandoned way back in 1973. August majored in drama at Hofstra University way back then. His dream was to become a thespian. But along came the Vietnam War and the draft forced him to adopt a ‘legitimate’ major (English/Literature). So instead of acting, he turned to teaching to make a living. When he tired of the pedantic ways of the New York City school administration (and tired of his bohemian brother heckling him for taking a ‘9-5’), he heeded the alluring call of the wild. In 1975 Rock N’ Roll sucked him out of the comfortable, predictable, conventional world of education and catapulted him into the unconventional, unpredictable, unstable world of Rock N’ Roll. And he never looked back.
Fast forward twenty years to 1997 and we find Mr. D. involved in a musical theatre experience in, of all places, Blackpool, England! “A chance to return to my theatre roots,” he smiled. And smiled and smiled. For now in the year known as the millennium, we find August Darnell once again cheerfully creating the role of D.J. Brutus T. Firefly in that music tribute to the glorious 70’s known as “Oh! What A Night”.
And so, yet another alias for Mr. Darnell (from KID CREOLE to Brutus T.). Yet another detour? Or perhaps just a circuitous route back home. Maybe a dream deferred can actually be a dream achieved, after all.
DISCOGRAPHY
1980 Off the Coast Of Me – Island/Ze
1981 Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places – Island/Ze
1982 Wise Guy (Tropical Gangsters) – Island/Ze (best known as Tropical Gangsters)
1983 Don’t Take My Coconuts- Island/Ze
1984 Cre-Ole’ – Island/Ze
1985 In Praise Of Older Women/Other Crimes- Sire (Warner)
1987 Too, Have Seen The Woods – Sire (Warner)
1990 Private Waters In The Great Divide – Columbia
1991 You Shoulda Told Me You Were – Columbia
1992 Kid Creole Redux – Sire (Warner) – US/Canada
1993 The Best Of Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Island – UK/Europe
1993 KC2 Plays K2C – Sony Records – Japan
1994 Kiss Me Before The Light Changes – Atoll – France
1995 Haiti – Viceroy – Germany
1996 The Kid & I – Initial/La Bande Son
1997 Live – Volume 1 – Jet Entertainment
1997 Coconuts – Killer Bees – Creole
1997 The Conquest Of You – K&L Music
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