This year, we lost Ronald “Khalis” Bell, who was a co-founding member of the classic R&B group Kool & The Gang. The GRAMMY Museum welcomed Kool & the Gang to the Museum's Clive Davis Theater on June 7, 2019 for a special program celebrating their 50th anniversary. Kool & the Gang, which officially launched in 1969 after performing for five years under various band titles, has influenced the music of three generations, and has been known as true recording industry legends. Thanks to iconic songs like “Celebration,” “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Summer Madness,” and “Open Sesame,” they’ve 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. Prior to their visit at the GRAMMY Museum, the globally in-demand touring band had appeared recently alongside Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band, Elton John and The Roots and performed on a recent, 50-city tour with rock legends Van Halen.