By Gary Johnson – Host, Calculations Talk Show.com

Updated Interview May 20, 2025

Robert “Kool” Bell is a founding member of the legendary pop/R&B group Kool & the Gang—a band that has helped define the sound of modern music. With seven Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, multi-platinum albums, and the distinction of being the most sampled band in history, Kool & the Gang has sold over 80 million records worldwide. Their influence spans generations, with 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits, and 31 gold and platinum albums.

On October 19, 2024, Kool & the Gang was officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio—an honor long overdue for a group that has shaped six decades of popular music.

The journey began in the early 1960s, when Robert and his brother Ronald Bell started performing jazz standards and Motown covers in small clubs. In 1969, they signed with the newly formed De-Lite Records and released their debut single, the up-tempo instrumental “Kool & the Gang.” Their breakout came in 1973 with the album Wild and Peaceful, which delivered three instant classics: “Funky Stuff,” “Jungle Boogie,” and “Hollywood Swinging.”

The 1980s brought another wave of success with the addition of lead vocalist James “J.T.” Taylor. They delivered timeless hits like the infectious “Ladies Night” and the sultry “Too Hot.” In 1980, they released their signature anthem “Celebration,” which became a global hit. Over the next decade, the group produced 19 charting singles and solidified their status as musical icons.

Even today, their music remains a fixture in pop culture. Just last week, I watched an episode of America’s Got Talent where judge Simon Cowell hit the golden buzzer—and as gold confetti rained down, the song “Celebration” played in the background. The moment said it all: Kool & the Gang’s music is eternal.

According to WhoSampled, Kool & the Gang has been sampled nearly 1,900 times—mostly in hip-hop. Musicologist Questlove has declared them the most sampled group in hip-hop history. Their grooves have been reimagined by artists like Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, Eric B. & Rakim, Tupac, Nas, Queen Latifah, Beastie Boys, TLC, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, and JAY-Z—to name just a few.

When I spoke with Robert in September 2024, we reflected on his six-decade career and the group’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. Beyond music, Robert serves as a U.S. ambassador of music and the arts, representing American culture in countries around the globe. He’s also a music tourism ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire also known as the Ivory Coast of Africa and a successful entrepreneur involved in global ventures and development projects.

Robert “Kool” Bell is more than a music legend—he is a cultural ambassador, business leader, and a living symbol of how funk, unity, and perseverance can move the world.

Kool & The Gang will be performing this weekend in Jacksonville, FL.

I spoke with Robert last September.  We talked about the group’s induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and his storied 6-decade long career in music.

Robert “Kool” Bell, co-founder of Kool & the Gang, was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey.  He gave himself the nickname “Kool” after someone in his neighborhood named “Cool.” 

His father and uncle were boxers who moved to New York to train and lived in the same building as jazz great Thelonious Monk (who became Bell’s Godfather) and with his brother Ronald, Bell began playing jazz and formed a group in 1964 called The Jazziacs, who early on played with the likes of McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders.  

After playing clubs in New York City under various names–and serving as backup in a Motown covers band–they became Kool & the Gang in 1969 (the band also including Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, Robert Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West). Kool & The Gang has since played jazz, soul, funk, rock, and pop music, but struck commercial success in 1973 with their album Wild and Peaceful, which yielded the Top 10 hits “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging.”

After adding Lead Vocalist, James “J.T.” Taylor, the group “struck gold” with major hits like “Ladies’ Night,” “Get Down on It,” “Joanna,” “Cherish” and the chart-topping “Celebration,” with the 1984 album Emergency selling two million copies. “Celebration” has become an international anthem; it was later used in national media coverage of the 1980 World Series, the 1981 Super Bowl, the 1981 NBA Championship, and the 1981 return of the Iran hostages.

The group has earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits and 31 gold and platinum albums.

From Nairobi to Newark, Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history and their bulletproof funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled R&B band of all time.

The heavily-in-demand band has continued to tour the world, appearing most recently alongside Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band, Elton John and The Roots and performing on a 50-city tour with rock legends Van Halen.

In 2014, they were honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award and in October 2015, in the town they sing about in one of their earliest hits, “Hollywood Swinging,” Kool & the Gang was honored to take their place as American musical icons with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Robert Bell’s bass guitar is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. 

In 2023, Robert says the group has an ambitious schedule with multiple dates in Las Vegas, cruise ships and other venues in and outside of the United States.

You can watch Robert’s 2023 interview with Gary Johnson below.

Robert is known as a music icon, but he’s also a successful businessman outside of the stage with his Le Kool Champagne Grand Cru, produced by Paul Berthelot.  The champagne is receiving rave reviews throughout France and Japan and will soon be imported to the United States, Africa and the rest of the world.

Robert also has “Just Kool Cologne.”  You can learn more about Robert by visiting the Kool & the Gang official website.  

A special thanks to Angelo Ellerbee (Double XXposure Media Relations) and Kevin Goins (New Grooves Radio) for arranging this interview.  And to Tony Johnson for helping me out on the side.