Harry Wayne Casey on KC and the Sunshine Band's Success: "It Was the Loneliest Time of My Life"

In 1973, Harry Wayne Casey founded the interracial R&B group KC and the Sunshine Band. Harry's music inspired a dance revolution with songs like "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and "Get Down Tonight," and over the decades, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Harry says that during the height of their success, however, he struggled with his loss of anonymity. "The reaction for us, to me, felt like Beatlemania," Harry says. "It was crazy with us. I mean, it would be 5,000 people outside of our hotel everywhere we went. I couldn't go anywhere."

Even now, Harry gets emotional when he remembers the isolation he felt. "People say, 'Well, wasn't that exciting for [you]?' It was the most loneliest of time of my life," he says. "I remember just looking out of my hotel window down into that crowd and wishing that I could just stand in the middle of them."

To numb the pain, Harry says he started taking prescription drugs, which escalated after he left the music industry. Watch as Harry opens up about his battle with addiction. Plus, find out why he reunited the band in the '90s.

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