Seven school friends and a godfather named Thelonious Monk

Robert “Kool” Bell took his nickname as a way to get by among the street gangs of his neighbourhood after his family moved from Ohio to New Jersey. The story of how a boy with a self-given nickname built a party band starts with boxing and jazz.

The Bell brothers' father and uncle were boxers who moved to New York to train, and they lived in the same building as Thelonious Monk, who became Robert's godfather. Miles Davis dropped by too, hoping to box. In 1964 seven school friends in Jersey City, most of them from Lincoln High School, formed an instrumental jazz and soul group called the Jazziacs. The name changed a few times before it settled on Kool & the Gang, and by 1969 they had signed to De-Lite Records and released a debut album.

The first big breakthrough came with Wild and Peaceful, which produced the top-ten singles “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging”. Then came a lean stretch before a second peak. A partnership with the Brazilian producer Eumir Deodato and the arrival of singer James “J.T.” Taylor opened up a new sound, and between 1979 and 1986 the hits kept coming: “Ladies' Night”, the number-one “Celebration”, “Get Down on It”, “Joanna”, “Misled” and “Cherish”. Their album Emergency sold two million copies in the US.

What stands out is how far the band travelled without a fixed style. Jazz, soul, funk, disco and pop all passed through their records, as did a long line of changing members. Songs such as “Too Hot” come from that polished, danceable stretch. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2024, and dance floors had welcomed them long before.