You’ve heard "Celebration" at every wedding, bar mitzvah, and sports championship for the last forty years. It’s unavoidable. But if you looked at the stage during their 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, or if you catch them at the BottleRock Festival in 2026, the faces have changed.
The story of the Kool & the Gang members is honestly a bit of a heavy one lately. For a band that defined the "good times," they’ve had a rough go with loss.
Robert "Kool" Bell is basically the last one left from the original seven-piece crew that started in a Jersey City basement back in 1964. He’s 75 now. He still wears the sequins. He still thumps that bass. But when he looks to his left or right, the guys he grew up with—the ones who shared an apartment above a dry cleaners in Ohio before moving to Jersey—are gone.
The Founding Seven: A Brotherhood of Jazz and Funk
Back in the mid-sixties, they weren't a disco juggernaut. They were the Jazziacs.
Robert Bell and his brother Ronald "Khalis" Bell were the heart of it. They were obsessed with jazz. Miles Davis used to literally drop by their house to talk boxing with their dad. That’s the kind of environment they grew up in. They recruited their neighborhood friends: Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky Westfield.
These seven guys were a unit.
They played raw, gritty funk like "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging." If you listen to those early 70s records, they don't sound like a wedding band. They sound like a street fight. It was horn-heavy, syncopated, and deeply cool.
What happened to the originals?
It’s a long list of goodbyes. Ricky Westfield left the group relatively early, in 1976, and passed away in 1985. Charles Smith, the guitarist who gave them that signature scratchy funk sound, died in 2006. Spike Mickens followed in 2010.
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But the real gut-punches came recently.
Ronald Bell, the musical director and the man who basically wrote "Celebration," died suddenly in 2020 at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Then, in 2021, the band lost Dennis Thomas—the guy who did the famous "This is a journey into sound" intro. Finally, in late 2023, George "Funky" Brown, the drummer who kept the pocket tight for half a century, passed away after a battle with cancer.
Now, Robert Bell stands alone as the sole surviving founding member. It’s kinda surreal when you think about it. Sixty years of music, and only one guy is left to hold the banner.
The J.T. Taylor Era: When Things Got Huge
You can't talk about Kool & the Gang members without mentioning James "J.T." Taylor.
In the late 70s, the band was actually struggling. Disco was dying, and their raw funk wasn't selling. They needed a "pretty boy" singer. They found Taylor, a former schoolteacher and amateur singer.
The chemistry was instant, but it changed everything.
They went from "Jungle Boogie" to "Ladies' Night." They went from the streets to the charts. J.T. was the face of the band during their massive 80s run—"Joanna," "Cherish," "Fresh." If you close your eyes and think of the band's voice, it’s his.
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Taylor left in 1988 for a solo career, came back for a bit in the late 90s, and then left again. There was some tension there for years. Honestly, fans spent decades wondering if they’d ever share a stage again.
The good news? They finally buried the hatchet for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Seeing Robert Bell and J.T. Taylor together again was the closure a lot of old-school fans needed.
The 2026 Lineup: Who is Touring Now?
If you go to see them at the Ocean Casino Resort or any of their 2026 tour dates, you aren't seeing a tribute band, but you are seeing a "new" version.
Robert Bell is still the anchor on bass. But the rest of the stage is filled with long-time collaborators who have, in many cases, been with the group for 20 or 30 years themselves. They aren't "founding" members, but they’ve earned their stripes.
- Amir Bayyan: He’s the lead guitarist and has been a staple in their production for years.
- Curtis Williams: He handles the keyboards and helps keep that synth-heavy 80s sound alive.
- Shawn McQuiller: He’s been one of the primary lead vocalists and guitarists since the 90s. He’s the guy hitting those high notes J.T. used to hit.
- Timothy Horton: He’s taken over the drum throne from George Brown.
It’s a massive operation. You’ve got a full horn section, percussionists like Lavell Evans, and multiple backup singers. It’s a wall of sound.
Why the Membership Changes Matter
Some people get snobby about "legacy acts." They say if the original guys aren't there, it’s not the real band.
With Kool & the Gang, that’s a bit of a mistake.
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This band was always more of a collective than a four-piece rock group. They survived because they were willing to evolve. When they needed to be a jazz-funk group, they were. When they needed to be a pop-disco machine, they brought in J.T. and producer Eumir Deodato.
The fact that Robert Bell is still out there at 75 is a testament to the "Music is the Message" philosophy they started with.
How to Appreciate the Legacy Today
If you want to understand the impact of these Kool & the Gang members, don't just look at their chart positions. Look at hip-hop.
The original members are among the most sampled musicians in history. "Summer Madness" (1974) has been used by everyone from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince to Erykah Badu. The drum break from "N.T." is the DNA of countless rap tracks.
The "Gang" might be smaller now, but their fingerprints are all over modern music.
If you're looking to dive deeper into their history, start with the Wild and Peaceful album for the raw stuff, then hit Ladies' Night to see the pivot. And if you have the chance to see Robert Bell live in 2026, take it. There aren't many architects of funk left on the planet.
To keep the legacy alive, check out the 2021 album Perfect Union. It was the last project that featured significant input from Ronald Bell and George Brown before they passed, making it a true "final bow" for the classic songwriting core. Follow their official social channels for updates on the 2026 world tour, as Robert Bell has hinted at special guest appearances from former members during select festival sets.