Kool and the Gang Co-Founder Ronald Bell passes away at 68

Ronald Bell, the singer, songwriter and saxophonist whose group Kool and the Gang became one of the most celebrated and musically eclectic funk bands in the 1970s and beyond, has died. He was 68.

Death details for Ronald Bell

Bell died at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands Wednesday morning with his wife by his side, publicist Sujata Murthy said. The cause of death has not been released.

Music career

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. After a brief downturn, the group enjoyed a return to stardom in the ’80s.

Kool and the Gang

Bell started the group with his brother Robert “Kool” Bell along with neighborhood friends Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, Robert “Spike” Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown and Ricky West.

Kool and 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.

As a self-taught musician, Bell created his own signature sound using horn lines, bass and synthesizer.

Producer and arranger

In addition to his work with Kool & the Gang, Ronald Bell also served as a producer and/or arranger for artists like the Fugees, Jimmy Cliff, House of Pain, Phillip Glass, and Rachid.

At the time of his death, he was working on various collaborations, a solo project called the Kool Baby Brotha Band, and a series of animated shorts about his life called Kool TV.

He is survived by his 10 children, his four siblings, and his wife, Tia Sinclair Bell.