Kool & The Gang

Genres:	Funk • Pop / Rock • R&B / Soul
Descriptive "tags":	funk • soul • disco • 70s • 80s
Decades Active:	1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Links online:	BBC Music • IMDb • MusicMoz • Official Homepage • Wikipedia

Biography

Originally formed as a quartet, the Jazziacs, by Robert ‘Kool’ Bell (8 October 1950, Youngstown, Ohio, USA; bass), Robert ‘Spike’ Mickens (b. Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; trumpet), Ronald ‘The Captain’ Bell - later known by his Muslim name Amir Bayyan (b. 1 November 1951, Youngstown, Ohio, USA; saxophone, keyboards) and Dennis ‘D.T.’ Thomas (b. 9 February 1951, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; saxophone). Based in Jersey City, this aspiring jazz group opened for acts such as Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas. They were later joined by Charles ‘Claydes’ Smith (b. 6 September 1948, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, d. 20 June 2006, Maplewood, New Jersey, USA; guitar) and ‘Funky’ George Brown (b. 5 January 1949, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; drums), and as the Soul Town Band, moderated their early direction by blending soul and funk, a transition completed by 1969 when they settled on the name Kool And The Gang. The...

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