Kool & The Gang drummer George ‘Funky’ Brown dies at 74

The drummer and co-founder of the famous band lost his battle against cancer.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Kool & The Gang drummer George Brown has passed away at the age of 74.

TMZ reports that the drummer and father of six died Thursday night in Los Angeles after losing his battle with lung cancer.

Courtesy of KTFA Entertainment Inc.

Brown, along with original members Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Bell, Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, Robert “Spike” Mickens, Charles Smith, Woodrow “Woody” Sparrow and Ricky West, founded Kool & The Gang. The band was famous for its unique music consisting of a combination of jazz, soul and funk.

Soul.com Music

Brown took on an important role as one of the band’s main songwriters. With his contributions, the band recorded and performed iconic songs such as “Ladies Night,” “Too Hot,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Summer Madness,” “Open Sesame,” “Celebration,” “Cherish” and more.

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The group’s self-titled debut album, Kool and the Gangwas released in 1969 and remains a symbol of the band’s 54 years of success as funk and soul legends.

Collectively, the band has earned two GRAMMY Awards, seven American Music Awards, a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award, a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Pop hits in the Top Ten and a total of 31 gold and platinum albums so far. They have also been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and their album sales have surpassed 7.5 million in the US and 70 million worldwide. .

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Kool and the gang circa 1970s. Gab/Redferns archive

It’s also worth noting how Brown’s signature drumming on previous Kool & The Gang recordings has been sampled by numerous artists from various genres, including The Killers, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Janet Jackson, and many more.

In July, Brown’s memoirs, Too Hot: Kool & The Gang and Me, was released just a month before he officially retired from the band. In an interview with NPRBrown described his music as “the sound of happiness.”

While reflecting on the changes the band has experienced over the years, the drummer added:

“It’s the chemistry. If the chemistry is there, bingo, it works. And you want to make it happen, you want to see people happy and you want to be successful with it. And you want to help create a culture, a global culture, where people come together with that music. “That music brings people together and makes this global culture bigger than before.”

“And when you make music that’s happy music, that’s what it does. Bring people to the clubs to have a good time. And that’s what we do. “We say our prayer before we leave and we say, let’s make some people happy,” Brown concluded.

George Brown is survived by his wife, Hanh Brown, and his six children, Dorian Melvin Brown, Jorge Lewis Brown, Gregory Brown, Jordan Xuan Clarence Brown, and Aaron Tien Joseph Brown.

Our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Other stars we have lost this year

It has been a very hard year for everyone. Let’s take a moment to honor other beloved celebrities we’ve lost along the way:

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Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry in tuxedo(Rena Schild/Shutterstock.com)

He Friends The student was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home after his assistant returned from running errands. The exact cause of death is still pending, but friends and fans continue to shower their loved one with love and support. He was 54 years old.

Pedro Blanco

Courtesy of KTFA Entertainment Inc.

The veteran actor died on November 1, 2023 due to melanoma. Peter White is remembered for his role as Lincoln “Linc” Tyler on the long-running ABC soap opera. All my kids. She was 86 years old.

Rest in peace.

Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn

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