{"id":42936,"date":"2020-09-11T05:56:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T04:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=42936"},"modified":"2020-09-11T05:56:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T04:56:47","slug":"ronald-khalis-bell-co-founder-kool-the-gang-dies-at-68","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/ronald-khalis-bell-co-founder-kool-the-gang-dies-at-68\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronald “Khalis” Bell, Co-founder, Kool & The Gang, Dies At 68"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ronald “Khalis” Bell, a Co-founder of the musical group, Kool & the Gang has died at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n

The death was confirmed on Wednesday by his publicist, Sujata Murthy saying his wife was by his side.<\/p>\n

The cause of death was not made known.<\/p>\n

It was learnt that Kool & 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. After a brief downturn, the group enjoyed a return to stardom in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Bell started the group with his brother Robert “Kool” Bell along with neighbourhood friends Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, Robert “Spike” Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown and Ricky West.<\/p>\n

Kool & the Gang won a Grammy in 1978 for their work on the soundtrack for “Saturday Night Fever.” The group was honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame four years later.<\/p>

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As a self-taught musician, Bell created his own signature sound using horn lines, bass and synthesizer.<\/p>\n

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.” The song was also used in a Nike shoe commercial in 2006 featuring LeBron James.<\/p>\n

Bell was working on a series of collaborations including a solo endeavor, “Kool Baby Brotha Band.” He also had plans of putting together a series of animated shorts called “Kool TV” about their childhood and career.<\/p>\n

Bell is also survived by 10 children.<\/p>\n

Murthy said the service for Bell will be private<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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