Kool and the Gang founder dies aged 68

KOOL and the Gang co-founder Ronald Bell has died aged 68, a representative for the singer has said.

Bell, pictured, started the band in New Jersey in 1964 with his brother Robert and wrote some of the group’s bestknown songs, including party staple Celebration, Cherish and Summer Madness. He died on Wednesday at his home in the US Virgin Islands with his wife by his side, his publicist said. No cause of death was released.

Kool and the Gang were one of the biggest bands of the 1970s and won a Grammy in 1978 for their work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Many of their refrains and melodies have gone on to be sampled by other artists, with the horns from their 1973 funky jam Jungle Boogie featuring on hundreds of other songs. In 2015, Kool and the Gang were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.