Kool & The Gang

Kool & the Gang was a highly successful R&B/soul/funk/disco group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964. They went through several musical phases in their career. They started out as practitioners of R&B an

Kool & the Gang was a highly successful R&B/soul/funk/disco group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964. They went through several musical phases in their career. They started out as practitioners of R&B and funk, eventually went through a phase where they were a smooth disco ensemble, and wound up the successful period of their career recording tunes that were a mixture of pop and R&B.

The group's main members over the years included brothers Robert Bell (known as "Kool") on bass (b. October 8, 1950, Youngstown, Ohio) and Ronald Bell on saxophone (b. November 1, 1951, Youngstown, Ohio); George Brown on drums; Robert Mickens on trumpet; Dennis Thomas on saxophone; and Rick Westfield on keyboards. The Bell Brothers' father was an acquaintance of Thelonious Monk and the brothers were friends with Leon Thomas.