“Please Don’t Go” by KC and The Sunshine Band

KC and the Sunshine Band is an act known primarily for such colorful hits as “That’s The Way (I Like It)” and “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty“, i.e. uptempo dance song. So the song “Please Don’t Go” marked the first time they decided to take a stab at a conventional love ballad.

That said, songs with these types of titles, such as Mary J. Blige’s “Don’t Go” or Stevie Wonder’s own “Please Don’t Go”, tend to be pretty straightforward. And such is the case with KC and co.’s piece, as the lyrics are quite repetitive and may even, as rendered by KWS for instance, be classified as an earworm.

And whereas the thesis sentiment may revolve around the vocalist’s attempt to stave off heartbreak, as far as the verses are concerned this is very much a love song. That is to say that KC doesn’t use the verses to harp on how devastated his life would be if his sweetheart leaves. Rather, his focus is more on the simple fact that he feels “blessed to be loved by someone as wonderful as” she is. So that would be the reason why he’s “begging please, please, please” for her not to dump him, basically.

And, that’s it. We are not treated to the cause of their potential breakup, apologies or anything like that.  Instead, the vocalist’s only goal at this point seems to be preventing his significant other from leaving by appealing to her compassionate side.

KC and the Sunshine Band

KC and the Sunshine Band is a disco group that was poppin’ back when said genre was hot, i.e. during the late 1970s. In fact they can be considered one of the premiere acts from that era, which helps explain why this group, which originated in early 1970s’ Florida, is still around as of this writing. 

And whereas the membership of the band has fluctuated significantly throughout the decades, during the years this group has been active it seems that Harry Wayne Casey, aka KC, has been consistently fronting it.

“Please Don’t Go”

This track is from KC and the Sunshine Band’s last album of the 1970s, “Do You Wanna Go Party”, which was an effort backed by TK Records (which supported the band during its formation and heyday). It was issued as the project’s second single on 12 July 1979.

Harry Wayne Casey produced and wrote this track with Richard Finch, a fellow co-founder of KC and the Sunshine Band, who left the group not too long after this song came out.

KC and the Sunshine Band actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 a few times during the 1970s, with “Please Don’t Go” being one of those cases. This song also holds the distinction of being the last time this act reached number one on said list. 

Furthermore, “Please Don’t Go” also proved to be a chart topper in Australia, Canada and South Africa. This is in addition to peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and concurrently achieving silver status across the pond.

#1 Hit

A Top-10 Hit

Famous Covers of “Please Don’t Go”

This song has been covered to comparable or even greater chart success a couple of times in 1992, with one rendition being by an Italian act called Double You and later that year via KWS, a British act.

Swedish musician, Basshunter, gave a dance spin to the original track in 2008. It was featured in his third album “Now You’re Gone – The Album”.

Television Appearances

In 2022, “Please Don’t Go” became popular once again after it was used in promoting Netflix’s biographical crime drama, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”. The track was used in its trailer. It also was featured in multiple episodes of the show.

The 1997 American teen drama, “Beverly Hills, 90210” makes use of this song. It appears on Episode 17 of the 7th Season. In the said episode, the song accompanies Val as she sees Tom and Kelly together at the Peach Pit, who believes Kelly just wants to hurt her.

Episode 3 of the 2nd Season of the 2004 American crime drama, “Cold Case” also features “Please Don’t Go”.