Musician Ronald Bell has died at age 68.
A representative for Bell confirmed to Rolling Stone that the musician died Wednesday at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but his cause of death was not revealed.
Kool and the Gang co-founder Ronald Bell, who co-wrote many of the group’s biggest hits including “Ladies Night,” “Jungle Boogie” and “Celebration,” has died at age 68 https://t.co/d79z7RdSXY
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) September 9, 2020
Bell helped form the band Kool & The Gang, which would go on to produce hit songs such as “Celebration,” “Ladies’ Night” and “Get Down On It.” The band produced 23 albums, starting first with “Kool and the Gang” in 1969 and most recently producing “Kool for the Holidays” in 2013.
Bell co-wrote many of the band’s songs including “Ladies’ Night,” “Celebration” and “Jungle Boogie.” (RELATED: ‘Game Of Thrones’ Star Diana Riggs Dies At 82 From Cancer)
Bell and his brother first began playing music on old paint cans on the streets of New York since they couldn’t afford drums. They used that sound as inspiration for their first album.
“We used to play a lot of percussion in the streets in the Sixties, go to the park and start beating on drums and stuff in the street … We were very street percussive [on that album], so we blended that element with listening to jazz,” once told the Rolling Stone. “You could hear the jazz element. You could hear the Motown element.”
