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group · 1964–

Kool & The Gang

American R&B, soul and funk band

Formed: 1964
Jersey City
Country: United States
Record labels: De-Lite Records
Discography: 34 albums

Biography

Kool & The Gang is a jazz group, formed in 1964 in Jersey City. Members include George Brown, James "J.T." Taylor, Ronald Bell and Dennis Thomas. Record labels: De-Lite Records. The discography here lists 34 albums, from “Kool and the Gang” (1969) to “People Just Wanna Have Fun” (2023). Honours include New Jersey Hall of Fame (2015), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2024) and star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell (also known as "Khalis Bayyan"), Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George "Funky" Brown, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock and pop music. The group changed their name several times. Settling on Kool & the Gang, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album Kool and the Gang in 1969. The band's first mainstream success came with the release of their fourth album Wild and Peaceful (1973); it contained the US top-ten singles "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging".

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Members

George Brown, James "J.T." Taylor, Ronald Bell, Dennis Thomas

Discography

Studio and live albums

Kool and the Gang 1969

Live at P.J.’s 1971 · Live

Live at the Sex Machine 1971 · Live

Good Times 1972

Music Is the Message 1972

Wild and Peaceful 1973

Light of Worlds 1974

Spirit of the Boogie 1975

Love & Understanding 1976

Open Sesame 1976

The Force 1977

Everybody’s Dancin’ 1978

Ladies’ Night 1979

Celebrate! 1980

Something Special 1981

As One 1982

In the Heart 1983

Emergency 1984

Forever 1986

Sweat 1989

Unite 1992

Live & Alive 1995 · Live

State of Affairs 1996

Live: Let’s Go Dancing 1999 · Live

The Hits: Reloaded 2004

Live 2005 · Live

BEST OF KOOL & THE GANG LIVE 2006 · Live

Still Kool 2007

Kool Funk Essentials - 2 2009

Live at Montreux 2009 2009 · Live

At the BBC 2010 · Live

Kool for the Holidays 2013

Perfect Union 2021

People Just Wanna Have Fun 2023

Awards

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What are Kool & The Gang's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Kool and the Gang (1969), Live at P.J.’s (1971), Live at the Sex Machine (1971), Good Times (1972) and Music Is the Message (1972).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.