The man who founded the band that sang Celebration and Get Down On It dies, aged 68 at his home in the US Virgin Islands.
Ronald 'Khalis' Bell, a co-founder, singer and producer of the group Kool & the Gang, has died. He was 68.
Bell died at his home in the US Virgin Islands on Wednesday morning with his wife by his side, publicist Sujata Murthy said. Kool and the Gang grew from jazz roots in the 1960s to become one of the major groups of the 1970s, blending jazz, funk, R&B and pop.Bell started the group with his brother Robert 'Kool' Bell along with neighbourhood friends Dennis 'DT' Thomas, Robert 'Spike' Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown and Ricky West.
Kool & the Gang won a Grammy in 1978 for their work on the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever and the group was honoured with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame four years later. As a self-taught musician, Bell created his own signature sound using horn lines, bass and synthesiser.Bell wrote and composed some of the group's biggest songs including Celebration, Cherish, Jungle Boogie and Summer Madness, which was used in several films including Rocky and Baby Boy.Bell was working on a series of collaborations including a solo endeavour, Kool Baby Brotha Band.
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