The Founding Muslim Musician Of Kool & The Gang, Ronald Bell Dies

JAKARTA - Ronald Bell, one of the founders of the legendary jazz / rhythm blues band Kool and the Gang, died on Wednesday, September 9 local time at the age of 68.

Ronald Bell was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1951. He is a Muslim with another name Khalis Bayyan.

Ronald Bell's representative Angelo Ellerbee said the musician died at his home in the US Virgin Islands, without specifying the cause of death.

Launching Antara, Thursday, Bell founded Kool and the Gang with his brother Robert and friends Dennis Thomas, Robert Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West in the early 1960s.

They play jazz with a bit of funk, disco, R&B and pop.

Kool and the Gang was a huge success in the 1970s, and is considered to be on par with Earth, Wind and Fire, the Isley Brothers, and Sly and the Family Stone.

Kool and the Gang took home the Grammys in 1978 for their contribution to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack starring John Travolta. They were awarded the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.

Their popular songs are still often played at party events, for example Celebration, Jungle Boogie, and Ladies' Night.