KC and the Sunshine Band ready to get down tonight in Rock Hill

Harry Wayne “KC” Casey has been known by a lot of names. Classmates call him Harry. His family uses a nickname. And some just call him Casey.

“Most people call me Casey. More like Casey, not K.C.,” he said.

Casey and his Sunshine Band roll into downtown Rock Hill on Friday for a sold-out show at Old Town Amphitheater.

KC and the Sunshine Band formed in 1973 in Florida and found disco success with songs such as “That’s the Way (I Like It),” “Get Down Tonight,” and “Boogie Shoes.”

But at one point, Casey got out of music all together.

“I didn’t want anything to do with the music business. I didn’t want to do anything again,” he said.

But in 1991, Arsenio Hall wanted Casey to perform on his talk show. The crowd reaction made Casey realize he loved to perform.

“That night it clicked on that TV show. These people miss me, and I miss them. I just realized there’s more that I’d given up, something that I’d always loved and forgot how much I loved it,” he said.

Since reforming the band, he’s released some new albums and in March released “Feeling You! (The 60s).”

“Number one, it’s kind of a musical diary of my life. I wanted to make sure I kept the integrity of the original songs,” Casey said. “It was just putting my little spin on them as I hear them or heard them without disrespect to the original.”

It wasn’t easy to find the right songs for the album. But doing covers of other people’s music wasn’t a new idea for Casey.

Casey remembers doing a show not long after one of the mass shootings in the U.S., and he made the snap decision to perform “Put A Little Love In Your Heart.” He started singing and was joined by the keyboardist and the back-up singers. Casey soon started adding covers to fill out the set list.

The songs on the latest album have real meaning to Casey.

“Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan is a song Casey really likes and is his “one little political statement.”

“It’s how I feel about the world right now. How amazing, after all these years, that we’re still looking for the answer,” Casey said.

Now 64, Casey said he’s experienced people coming and going from his life, so he included “(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me.”

“I just thought that song kind of summed up that part of my life. You don’t forget people. You don’t forget the ones you love, and you don’t forget the ones you’ve fallen out with, either, or dislike,” he said. “That’s how that came about.”

“Both Sides Now” was included because it reflected his life’s journey, Casey said.

“I’ve lived every part of the lyrics of that song,” he said.

Things are different with this tour than they were back in the band’s heyday. It’s not as easy to catch a flight or get through an airport.

Technically, things have improved. He performs now with a small headphone in his ear that allows him to control the band’s volume. And recording music is easier.

Along with performances, Casey remains busy in the studio. On the day of the interview, he had been busy recording background vocals for his upcoming Christmas album. But despite the busy schedule, it seems he has no plans to slow down.

“You just keep going,” he said.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 2:38 PM with the headline "KC and the Sunshine Band ready to get down tonight in Rock Hill."