Kool & the Gang co-founder Ronald "Khalis" Bell has died aged 68.
The cause of death for the singer - who had 10 children - is yet to have been released, but Ronald's wife was said to have been by his side.
Ronald formed the funk band with his brother Robert "Kool" Bell back in 1964, and they went on to have several hits which he co-wrote, including 'Jungle Boogie' - which has been sampled on a number of other songs - 'Celebration', 'Ladies Night' and 'Get Down On It'.
The group won a Grammy in 1978 for their work on the soundtrack for “Saturday Night Fever.” Their song "Open Sesame" was featured on the iconic album.
Their song "Summer Madness" was used in several films including “Rocky” and “Baby Boy." The hit was also used in a Nike shoe commercial featuring LeBron James.
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.
The band have dabbled in numerous genres over the years, from jazz right through to funk-soul, but Ronald once admitted: "You had a hard time trying to get us to play R&B. We were diehard jazz musicians. We're not stooping to that."
He became a huge fan of hip hop in the 80s, and could hear his music in the background of Public Enemy's 'Fear of a Black Planet', as well as many other hip hop tunes.
Kool & The Gang - who were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2015 - dropped their self-titled debut album in 1970 and have gone on to sell more than 70 million records worldwide.
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