Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Bronx-bred bandleader August Darnell (aka Kid Creole) took his zoot suit-wearing, Latin pop personality and introduced a unique fusion of salsa, disco, reggae, and a tinge of the underground to '80s mainstream pop. Featuring brother Stony Browder, Jr., Coati Mundi, singer/dancer Adriana Kaegi, and a slew of multi-instrumentalists, the Coconuts debuted with Off the Coast of Me in 1980. It wasn’t until after their geographic concept album, Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places and its follow-up, Wise Guy (aka Tropical Gangsters) that the ensemble hit it big. The band’s subsequent albums never topped their early success, yet thanks to a strong back catalog, a string of killer singles, and an irresistible stage presence, the band was able to tour Europe and the U.K. well into the 2000s.