Jean Kluger (born March 31, 1937) – Stories?? (1972)
The Chakachas' follow up to their sexy international dancefloor hit Jungle Fever was this very funky cut, co-written by Kluger and Willy De Moor.
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Jean Kluger is a prolific Belgian songwriter, composer and producer. Among his numerous projects, he co-wrote all of the French music duo Ottowan’s hit records like “D.I.S.C.O.” (1979) and “Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)” (1981). He is also the brother of Chakachas producer Roland Kluger.
The Chakachas were a group of studio musicians from Belgium (including Tito Puente’s wife, the singer Kari Kenton) who laid down some seriously funky Latin soul tracks. They were best known for their sexy funk smash hit “Jungle Fever,” which went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being released as a single in late 1971, and undoubtedly resulted in the birth of many a Gen Xer.
It sold over a million copies in the U.S., and was a seminal track of the early disco era, heating up the then-underground dancefloor scene. “Jungle Fever” was later resurrected when Paul Thomas Anderson included it on the soundtrack to Boogie Nights (1997).
The group’s follow up to “Jungle Fever” was the very funky jam “Stories??” which was the opening cut on their 1972 self-titled album. In Italy and Germany it was the title track, since the albums released in those countries were titled Stories. The LP was produced by Roland Kluger and co-written by Jean Kluger and Chakachas keyboardist Willy De Moor aka Bill Ador. De Moor had previously written “Jungle Fever.”
Members featured on the track were Gaston Bogaerts on percussion (who founded the group and was its bandleader), Kari Kenton on vocals and maracas, Vic Ingeveldt on saxophone, Charlie Lots on trumpet, Christian Marc playing piano, Henri Breyre on guitar and backing vocals, and Bill Raymond on bass. Sadly, Chakachas founder Bogaerts recently passed on December 9, 2022. He was 101.
“Stories??” had a funky, playful groove with lots of giggles and silly background noises, and was clearly a song lots of folks enjoyed while getting stoned. With recreational marijuana use now legal in twenty-one states and counting, it's high time to revisit this unsung smoking track.
#soul #funk #disco #Chakachas