Interview: George "Funky" Brown of Kool & The Gang Achieves a Profound Posthumous Send-Off With 'Where I'm Coming From'

Hanh Pham Brown, the widow of George “Funky” Brown, speaks on the significance of her late husband’s posthumous release and lifelong dedication to Kool & the Gang.

Stream: ‘Where I’m Coming From’ – George Brown

Over forty years later, it’s still difficult for partygoers worldwide to resist Kool & the Gang’s cheerful invitation to “Celebrate good times, come on!”

While 1980’s “Celebration” remains the Gang’s most recognizable and commercially successful track, it’s worth noting that the group has remained active performing and recording over the many years since then. All of that achievement has culminated with the release of their twenty-sixth (!) album, as well as their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, over the past year-and-change.

From the time Kool & the Gang was first founded in Jersey City in 1964, George Brown – or, as he would later come to be known, “Funky” – would prove to be one of its most committed and depended-on members. About forty musicians have joined Kool & the Gang for various portions of the past 60 years, but Brown was there the whole time as their lead drummer and percussionist, along with contributing vocals, lyrics, and keyboards on occasion, up until he passed away at age 74 in November 2023.

Where I'm Coming From - George Brown — Where I’m Coming From – George Brown

Shortly before his death, Brown completed two final creative projects. His memoir, Too Hot: Kool & The Gang & Me, was published in July of last year, and he also managed to put together his first solo album, Where I’m Coming From, which was designed to be a lyrical and musical overview of his decades-long life and career.

His wife, Hanh Pham Brown, offers some meaningful insight into this swan song of a record and how Funky stayed true to and passionate for his craft up until the very end.

Read our interview below and listen to George Brown’s solo album Where I’m Coming From, out now!

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Stream: “WHAT IF” – George Brown

A CONVERSATION WITH HANH PHAM BROWN

This interview has been lightly edited for purposes of length and clarity.

Atwood Magazine: Over the years, what was it like being with George and having Kool & the Gang be such a strong part of your lives?

Hanh Pham Brown: It’s been a roller coaster ride, I have to say. It’s one of those things where you would never know what lies ahead, especially when I first met him. I didn’t know who he was at that time, and finally he came out and said, “I’m like this, I’m this common Joe person.” It’s been a challenge and an amazing journey to see the magnitude of the band and what George has contributed. It’s been an amazing ride.

Do you still personally have any connection with the other members of Kool & the Gang?

Hanh Brown: The band is my extended family, so we are always going to be in connection. I’ve been part of that family for 30 years. When they’re in California, I try to have them together. I bring them to my house just so they can relax and have a home-cooked meal when they’re on the road.

In recent years, what was it like seeing George age but also staying true to his craft and determined to complete one final album?

Hanh Brown: George was a visionary man. Full of vision. This album – not just this album, his whole personal career – has been a journey for him. So, I think this is his true craft. I always encouraged him to get it out and to let the world know what he was capable of. He’s not just a drummer or a keyboardist for a band. He was a writer – not the only writer for the band, but he had so much in him that he needed to get out.

As the years go by, he keeps writing and writing, and I say, “Honey, when are you going to get it out?” And he goes, “I’ll get there, I’ll get there.” So, I was like, “OK, you’ll get there, but you’re 10 years into now!” And he says, “The right moment.” Unfortunately, he wasn’t planning on not being here [for the right moment].

At one point, he said, “Well, I’m still going to be with the band when my album comes out. I’ll work in between small venues and perform and let people know I can sing.” It’s really been an amazing journey to be with him and see what he’s capable of.

George was mainly known as the drummer for Kool & the Gang. Was singing something he did in addition to that?

Hanh Brown: Being in the band, all of them can sing. The Kool & the Gang family is not just a one-man show. All those guys are multiple instruments gifted. Not just one or two instruments – some of them can play so many. And writing – I can’t say they all can write, but the main writers were George and Khalis [Ronald “Khalis” Bell, another of the band’s founding members]. And from there, those two could spread out the music for the other members to put their share in.

Singing-wise, I think they all had to be able to background sing, so back then, when there were the original seven, they were all multi-instrumentalists and they all had to be able to sing. That never stopped. So, George was able to build up his singing ability through taking lessons and writing and all the other stuff [he did] for himself and for other artists as well.

Were you able to see him record some of the album? Did you get a sense of what the production was like?

Hanh Brown: I saw when he would have it in his mind to get it out. [There were] early mornings or late nights when I would wake up and he would say, “Oh, I have something on my mind, I want to go see if I can tinker on the keyboard and get it down.” That creative side would come out on those late nights or early mornings, sometimes at 2 or 3 am.

And on the recording side – he would go into the studio, and when he’s in his own private space, I don’t distract him from that. He’s with his engineers and his musicians. When someone interrupts your creative side, you kind of lose the vibe, so I try to stay away from that. But what he’ll do is bring in his products after he’s done and say, “Listen to this. How’s this? What do you think? Is this for me, or is this for Kool & the Gang?” He’ll do that. So, I get to hear the finishing side, [even though] I don’t get to see the moment when he’s in the studio.

George passed away last November. Do you know what was done during the following months to finish up the album and have that polished product be ready for release?

Hanh Brown: Actually, before George passed, his whole album was done. It was set for release and the only thing we had to do was mix and master. So, it was already etched in stone and the only thing that I did differently was that I added a song that I wanted to be included on this album because it was a story. This whole album is a story about the people in his life who meant a lot to him or who changed his life. That is the one thing that I do want to say. But the album was already done; it was released in mid-September.

Now that the album is out, it’s a chance to celebrate George’s life and career one last time, and it’ll probably also inspire some people to check out Kool & The Gang’s back catalogue, I would think. What do you hope fans will be able to take away from that opportunity?

Hanh Brown: You know, I hope the public will enjoy this album. [It has] lessons of life, words of wisdom, healing – I know that he’s all about healing and comfort and making people feel good. And it has stories and songs that I know he would want people to relate to. So, that’s what I’m hoping to achieve by releasing this album on behalf of George, on behalf of Astana Music, Inc. and in collaboration with Magnetic Music Works.

I think that what we’re hoping for is for the public to hear his voice – such a comforting voice – and the message that comes across. He was a philosopher and when you listen to George talk, you can hear that he loves to teach. You can hear all that wisdom and faith in what he teaches. People, when they talk to him, can carry on a conversation for a long time. He has a lot of wisdom to share and it’s interesting.

He also put out a memoir not long ago. How do the written word and the music work together to be a solid send-off package for George, if you will?

Hanh Brown: I think that’s his way of leaving things behind for us all. I’m in the field of health, so people do leave, and I always see how people set things up before they leave. Hindsight-wise, I look back and say, “Wow, I think this man knew in his own way that he was not going to be here much longer on this Earth.” That’s how he put things up and how I helped him get there.

It was an amazing journey for me and so I’m happy that he was able to get it out. He finished his memoir and was able to make one appearance [an NPR interview in which he promoted Too Hot], and that was amazing. It was beautifully done; he did it, and I loved that he was able to do that.

I wish he were here to see the album flourish, because we had a listening party for him. It was a beautiful turnout with all of the journalists and his son, Aaron Brown, was able to dedicate one of his favorite songs that his dad wrote to him and do his own music as well. George gave that child particularly the gift and the legacy for him to follow. I was really happy that this did happen for him.

What impresses you most about Where I'm Coming From?

Hanh Brown: I think this is an amazing album because it was carefully selected and put together. It’s about his personal life, and when you share somebody’s story for 30 years, you do have a life story to tell. So, this album touches on our relationship, his grandmother, his past relationships, and how much God meant to him. He wasn’t a man of one faith – if people walked through our house, they would see everything under the sun. It’s quite interesting – people would be like, “Oh, you have the Mezuzah on your door and you also have a bunch of Buddhas in your backyard! And one of them has the Star of David on his back!” George was a man of all religions and it’s really unbelievable how he left things behind for us all.

Do you know of any upcoming Kool & the Gang-related projects from other members?

Hanh Brown: Yes, Kool & The Gang has a music company ourselves, which is Magnetic Music Works, Inc. One of the members who is signed to us for his music [will soon] release his jazz album. George has a [posthumous compilation] jazz album coming out next year, so that’s beautiful – it’s called Jazz in Paris. The band started out as a jazz band, and George loved jazz.

Curtis [Curtis “Fitz” Williams, Kool & the Gang’s current saxophonist] is also going to be releasing his work. Aside from that, I don’t believe the band will write more music because their two main writers are no longer here. But there’s still Curtis under Magnetic, and George left us a legacy of his own songwriting and a lot of music in the vault that we’re going to release as time goes by.

His son, Aaron Brown, has his own music coming out as well. If you listen to Aaron Brown, his style of writing is similar to his dad’s, except it’s more modern pop – oldie, but modern pop. So, that is what lies ahead in our camp here.

Any final thoughts you’d like to leave the fans and readers?

Hanh Brown: You know, if fans wanted to learn about George, I would tell them to go listen to the album. You can hear his voice – that helped me heal. Even I, his wife, who typed up ¾ of his book for him, had to go back and reread it. I just said, “OK, let me read this and make sure my memory is correct.” It gives some insight into show biz for those who want to know about show biz and how he weathered through it as a young man. It’s simple reading but it’s amazing, it’s good, I loved it, it helped me to get through a lot of things and clarify some of the un-clarity sometimes.

Also, I’m very proud of the band for having finally been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! They finally made it after almost 60 years; it’s been a long journey for all of the band members, and they finally made a spot for themselves. It’s well-deserved.

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