#AtoZ 1981 Songs to Remember - "C" is for "Celebration"
I chose 1981 music as my theme this year. My newest novel The Summer of Princess Diana is set in the summer of 1981, and oh! the music! Let’s take a look back at a pivotal time in the music industry.
"Celebration" reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart on February 7, 1981, and held that position for two weeks. It was the only #1 Billboard hit for Kool & The Gang.
Ronald Bell, one of the group's co-founders, who was the saxophonist and musical arranger, said the idea for the song came from the Koran (or Quran) - he was reading a passage where God created Adam, and, as Bell noted, "the angels were celebrating and singing praises." That passage inspired him to write the basic chords and the line, 'Everyone around the world, come on, celebration.'
Back in 1981, "Celebration" was played on the radio in honor of the release of the US hostages from captivity in Iran.