Amir bayyan biography

Ronald Kool Bell

The legacy continues with Robert Kool Bell, co-founder, leader and master bassist for the legendary Pop/R&B group Kool & the Gang, the seven-time Grammy award-winners who also earned many American Music Awards.

Kool and his family emigrated to Jersey City, NJ in the early 1960s with siblings Ronald/Khalis, Rory/Wahid, Kevin/Amir. In 1964, Kool and Ronald joined neighborhood friends Spike Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown, and Charles Smith to create a distinctive musical blend of jazz, soul, and funk.

At first calling themselves “The Jazziacs”, the band went through various name changes—the New Dimensions, the Soul Town Band, and Kool & the Flames—before settling on Kool & the Gang in 1968. A multi-platinum-selling group and the most sampled band of all time, Kool & the Gang has sold over 80 million albums worldwide and influenced the music of generations with 25 Top Ten R&B hits, 9 Top Ten Pop hits,