Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)
Kool & the Gang | Artist Essentials
First released: 1981 (year verified)
Original 1981 studio album presentation
MusicAtlas editorial note: The smooth lead is supported by small, precisely repeated instrumental details.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1981 (year verified)
The original studio recording was released in 1981 and belongs to the original Something Special program. Year precision does not assign an album day to a single or a later reissue.
Recording: Original 1981 studio album presentation
Credit: Kool & the Gang
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original album: Something Special
Original album association; the supported year is not an exact worldwide release day.
Something Special - original licensed album program
The original 1981 program establishes the selected Kool & the Gang performances. Year precision is used; modern package dates, isolated inherited fields, bonus mixes and later concert performances are not adopted as first-release dates. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
In the yearly lists
These are listening-list appearances, separate from the first-release date.
The actual retained band credit and reviewed title identify the original studio recording in this program. A later annual hit year is retained unchanged and does not replace the original album year.
Something Special - original licensed album program
The original 1981 program establishes the selected Kool & the Gang performances. Year precision is used; modern package dates, isolated inherited fields, bonus mixes and later concert performances are not adopted as first-release dates. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Kool & the Gang - official band history
The band documents its Jersey City origins with the Bell brothers and fellow musicians, the original instrumental and horn-centered sound, the 1973 Wild and Peaceful program and the change in 1979 toward the Ladies Night sound. Only these historical facts are used, not promotional superlatives or current touring claims. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
About The Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang developed from a Jersey City ensemble formed around brothers Robert and Ronald Bell and their neighborhood friends. The group combined jazz instrumentation with soul and funk, using tightly arranged horns and an active rhythm section. Its early records foregrounded instrumental patterns and group vocals. The arrival of singer James J.T. Taylor and work with producer Eumir Deodato brought a smoother vocal emphasis in 1979, while preserving the rhythmic foundation behind the band's dance records.
Artist background sources
Kool & the Gang - official band history
The band documents its Jersey City origins with the Bell brothers and fellow musicians, the original instrumental and horn-centered sound, the 1973 Wild and Peaceful program and the change in 1979 toward the Ladies Night sound. Only these historical facts are used, not promotional superlatives or current touring claims. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Kool & the Gang - label biography and original stylistic periods
The label biography identifies the early Jazziacs band, Robert and Ronald Bell, the 1969 debut, the mix of jazz, soul and funk, and James J.T. Taylor with producer Eumir Deodato in 1979. Its 2007 new medley is explicitly a later recording and is not one of the original selections. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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