Kool & Gang, Monica make it A Night To Remember

Sunday, January 1, 1905

photo Kool and the Gang
photo Monica

The two acts booked for A Night To Remember will be looking out for the girls and the guys.

Kool & the Gang, who topped the charts with "Ladies' Night," and Monica, whose "This Boy Is Mine" duet went double platinum, will perform at the 26th annual fundraiser for local urban youth organizations on Saturday, May 11. The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center, 1 Carter Plaza.

Kool & The Gang has sold more 70 million albums worldwide and influenced the music of three generations. The band has performed continuously for the past 35 years, longer than any R&B group in history, according to a bio. Their funk and jazzy arrangements also have made them the most sampled band of all time. They are touring with Kid Rock this summer.

Their 25 Top 10 R&B hits include "Celebration," "Cherish," "Jungle Boogie," "Summer Madness" and "Open Sesame." They've been nominated twice for Grammy Awards and sold 31 gold and platinum albums.

Fueled by the single "It All Belongs to Me," Monica's latest album, "New Life," debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and No. 4 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. Praised by media outlets including USA Today and Yahoo, "New Life" is the fifth consecutive Top 10 chart debut from the singer.

In addition to her shared 1999 win on "This Boy Is Mine," Monica was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2011: for "Everything to Me" (Best Female R&B Vocal Performance) and "Still Standing" (Best R&B Album).

In its 25-year history, A Night To Remember has raised over $4 million, according to its board of directors. Last year's recipients include Ballet Tennessee, Boys Leadership Summit, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 100 Black Men of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, NAACP-ACTSO, Boy Scouts of America and the Kappa Foundation of Chattanooga.

"Due to the tremendous support we received from the community last year, we were able to double the amount of dollars granted to area organizations, thus allowing us to make a difference in many more lives of Chattanooga's youth," said board chairman Irvin Overton in a new release." There is no other event in Chattanooga that impacts this many different organizations in one night."

Tickets are $75 and $100. Quantities very limited. Check www.anighttoremember.org or call 423-463-0687 for availability.