Tag Archives: kool-and-the-gang

Michael Sumler, who worked alongside funk legends Kool & the Gang as their hype man and was known as “Chicago Mike,” died in a car crash on Sunday in Georgia. He was 71. Local Atlanta television station 11Alive reported that Sumler was traveling on Veterans Memorial Highway in Cobb County …

Thirty years after first being eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, funk gods Kool & the Gang were finally inducted at a ceremony in Cleveland on Saturday night. The group that wrote “Celebration” naturally was one of the most exuberant performers of the night, drawing from both …

Few artists have been sampled by hip-hop producers more than Kool & the Gang. George “Funky” Brown’s drums have formed the backdrop to countless rap classics, while the group’s horn section has, for decades, been one of the most fiercely intimidating in music. Public Enemy has a long sonic history …

E veryone in the band knew there was a problem, even if they didn’t know exactly how to fix it. It was 1978, and nearly a decade into their recording career, Kool & the Gang — the once-dominant jazz and funk group whose biggest hits propelled clubs all over the …

Kool & the Gang bandleader Robert “Kool” Bell learned the group was entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Sunday night when Ryan Seacrest and Lionel Richie delivered the announcement live on American Idol. “We had a party,” says Bell. “I was here with friends at my house. When …

George Brown, the co-founder, drummer, and songwriter for Kool & the Gang, died Thursday, Nov. 16, after a battle with cancer. He was 74. A rep for Kool & the Gang confirmed Brown’s death in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. Brown’s family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations …

In celebration of Kool & The Gang’s 60th anniversary next year, the iconic funk and soul group announced their new album People Just Wanna Have Fun on Wednesday. The record is set to release on July 14, 2023, and follows their single “Let’s Party” featuring Sha Sha Jones. The 15-track …

Kool & the Gang, one of the world’s greatest living groove-based bands, have been playing more than 100 shows a year for longer than Robert “Kool” Bell cares to remember. He was already adjusting to the unfamiliar sensation of a long stint at home in 2020 when tragedy struck — …