Song:Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy
Album:Kid Creole Redux
Because Kid Creole & The Coconuts was very difficult to classify, Sire Records seemed to have difficulty promoting them. So they were much bigger in Europe than they ever were in the US. To simply classify them as dance music is too simple as their music was a mix of several different styles. Cab Calloway was probably the biggest style influence and Latin and Brazilian music was part of the group's style as well. Group leader August Darnell was born Aug. 12, 1950 in Montreal and grew up in Bronx, NY. His full name is Thomas August Darnell Browder. He had a group in the 60s with his half brother Stony Browder Jr. called The In-Laws. Darnell became an English teacher. In 1974, the two formed Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band that mixed disco with big band and Latin rhythms. They had a gold album in 1976 but when the group faded, Darnell went to work for ZE Records as a house producer working with James Chance and others. But Darnell wanted to get back into performing and called himself Kid Creole after the Elvis Presley film King Creole. The Coconuts were three female singers led by Darnell's wife Adriana "Addy" Kaegi along with Dr. Buzzard vibraphonist Andy Hernandez AKA Coati Mundi. Darnell portrayed Kid Creole in the image of Cab Calloway with a Latin twist complete with zoot suit. The song themes usually had the girls berating Kid Creole about something like Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy. ZE had a distribution deal in England with Island Records and they made a US deal with Sire Records. Their second album Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places did well on the British dance charts. The third album Tropical Gangsters did even better in England and three singles made the top ten. Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy reached #2. For some reason. Sire retitled the album Wise Guys and sold it strictly to the club market. So Kid Creole & The Coconuts never had much success in the US because Sire didn't promote them properly. They remained a cult group. This comp is a good intro to their music. The original group split in 1985 when Darnell divorced his wife. She had a group called Boomarang. Darnell continued Kid Creole & The Coconuts. He has worked on various film and stage projects and the group has recorded occasionally. Kid Creole & The Coconuts were a lot of fun and with better promotion could have been much bigger. Here's the video for Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy by Kid Creole & The Coconuts.
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