
Fresh became Kool And The Gang's 8th #1 Billboard chart hit when it reached the top spot the week of 5/18/85. The band's sound had grown from pure funk during most of the 1970's to pure pop from 1979 throughout the 1980's when Deodato was brought in to produce the band and J.T.Taylor was added as a new lead vocalist. Hardcore funk fans were upset by the band's changeover but the commercial success of the band in the 1980's yielded three consecutive platinum albums plus another two that went gold. They had six singles reach #1 Billboard plus another five that made the Top Ten.