Ronald “Khalis” Bell, one of the founding members of Jersey City, New Jersey soul and disco band Kool & The Gang died at age 68 in his Virgin Islands home on Wednesday. His cause of death has not been disclosed to the public at the time of writing.
Rolling Stone reports that Ronald and his brother, Robert “Kool” Bell, first broke into music busking by using old paint cans as drums in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. The scope of their endeavor would grow into a band called the Jazziacs after they relocated to Jersey City, which would rebrand to Kool & the Flames, the Jazz Birds and ultimately Kool & the Gang by the time they released their self-titled debut album in 1970.
The band’s sound blurred the lines between soul, R&B funk and disco. “Get Down On It,” “Celebration,” “Ladies’ Night” and “Jungle Boogie” are but a few of the anthems released by the group which would go on to become ubiquitous features of the mainstream music landscape. Their music was included in soundtracks for films such as Pulp Fiction and Saturday Night Fever, the latter of which won a GRAMMY Award in 1978. The band themselves won a GRAMMY in the category of “Best Inspirational Performance” in 1985.
Ronald Bell is survived by his wife, Tia Sinclair Bell, and 10 children.
