"Open Sesame" is a song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1976 eponymous studio album. The song, issued as a single in 1976 by De-Lite Records, reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 13 on the US Billboard Disco Action chart.
Compendium "Open Sesame" was produced by K.G productions along with Mr. Vee productions. Also known as "Open Sesame Part 1", the tune interpolated Sol Bloom's "The Streets of Cairo" and was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George "Funky" Brown, Claydes Smith, and Dennis "D.T." Thomas. The single's B-side was "Open Sesame – Part 2 (Groove with the Genie)". The song first appeared on the group's 1976 studio album Open Sesame, and was subsequently included on the soundtrack to the 1977 feature film Saturday Night Fever.
Critical reception Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork wrote "'Open Sesame' doesn't rank among Kool & the Gang's absolute best cuts, but its silly vocals and breakneck horns are nevertheless impressive." Tyler Golsen of Far Out also declared "'Open Sesame' is a solid addition to the disco canon from some of the masters of the genre."
Legacy "Open Sesame" has been sampled on "L.A., L.A." by Capone-N-Noreaga featuring Tragedy Khadafi and Mobb Deep from the duo's 1997 studio album The War Report. The Beastie Boys sampled "Open Sesame" on "Shazam!" featuring Mix Master Mike from the group's 2004 studio album To the 5 Boroughs.
Personnel
Khalis Bayyan – alto flute, clavinet, keyboards, percussion, tenor saxophone, vocals Robert "Kool" Bell – bass guitar, percussion, vocals George Brown – drums, percussion Robert Spike Mickens – flugelhorn, percussion, trumpet Claydes Smith – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion Dennis "D.T." Thomas – alto saxophone, congas, flute, vocals Donald Boyce – Genie voice Khalif Bryant – vibraphone Ellouise Daughn – harp Larry Gittens – flugelhorn, trumpet Otha Nash – percussion, trombone, valve trombone, vocals Ricky West – vocals Something Sweet – backing vocals Producer – Kool & the Gang Co-producer – George Brown Recording engineers – Terry Rosiello, Nils Salminen Mixing engineer – Terry Rosiello Mastering engineer – Nimitr Sarikananda Arrangements – Khalis Bayyan, Kool & the Gang
Charts Chart (1975)PeakpositionUS Billboard Hot Soul Singles6US Billboard Disco Action13 Canada Dance/Urban Top 30 (1976)24 Canada Top 100 (1977)70
References