Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Kool & the Gang’s Ronald Bell dies
Ronald “Khalis” Bell, 68, a co-founder, singer and producer of the group Kool & the Gang, has died.
Bell died at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday morning with his wife by his side, publicist Sujata Murthy said. The cause of death has not been released.
Kool & the Gang grew from jazz roots in the 1960s to become one of the major groups of the 1970s, blending jazz, funk, R&B and pop. After a brief downturn, the group enjoyed a return to stardom in the ’80s.
Bell started the group with his brother Robert “Kool” Bell along with neighborhood friends Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, Robert “Spike” Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown and Ricky West.
Kool & the Gang won a Grammy in 1978 for the group’s work on the soundtrack for “Saturday Night Fever.” The group was honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame four years later.
As a self-taught musician, Bell created his own signature sound using horn lines, bass and synthesizer.
Bell wrote and composed some of the group’s biggest songs, including “Celebration,” “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie” and “Summer Madness,” which was used in several films, including “Rocky” and “Baby Boy.” The song was also used in a Nike shoe commercial in 2006 featuring LeBron James.
Bell was working on a series of collaborations including a solo endeavor, “Kool Baby Brotha Band.” He also had plans of putting together a series of animated shorts called “Kool TV” about their childhood and career.
Bell is also survived by 10 children.
Springsteen and E Street Band record new album:
Bruce Springsteen will release a new rock album that he recorded in his New Jersey home studio with the E Street Band.
The Boss said Thursday the album is called “Letter To You,” and he and the band recorded it in just five days. It will be released on Oct. 23.
“Letter To You” will have nine new songs and include new recordings of three unreleased songs that predate Springsteen’s 1973 debut album, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.” The songs are “Janey
Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest” and “Song for Orphans.”
“Letter To You” is Springsteen’s first time performing with the E Street Band since The River 2016 tour.
Baldwin, wife welcome fifth child:
It’s a party of five for Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin.
The couple on Wednesday announced the arrival of a baby boy, their fifth child together.
“We had a baby last night,” Hilaria Baldwin said on Instagram with a photo of parents and child. “He is perfect, and we couldn’t be happier. Stay tuned for a name.”
Alec Baldwin has a daughter, Ireland Baldwin, 24, from his previous marriage to Kim Basinger.
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin married in 2012. They now have a daughter and four sons.
Sept. 11 birthdays:
Actor Earl Holliman is 92. Comedian Tom Dreesen is 81. Director Brian De Palma is 80. Drummer Mickey Hart is 77. Sports reporter Lesley Visser is 67. Musician Moby is 55. Singer Harry Connick Jr. is 53. Actor Taraji P. Henson is 50. Rapper Ludacris is 43. Singer Charles Kelley is 39. Actor Mackenzie Aladjem is 19.