Unlike many of their peers, Kool & the Gang transitioned effortlessly into the 1980s, augmenting the funk-jazz fusion they pioneered with a smoother pop sound that yielded hits like “Celebration,” ...

The group’s funk, disco and pop songs have been sampled over 1,800 times, but haven’t collected the same accolades as many contemporaries. A new boxed set takes a look back. By Steve Knopper “Do ...

Just before disco reached mainstream status in 1974 with the Hues Corporation’s “Rock the Boat,” live funk bands dominated at clubs in many urban markets. The bump was a dance rage, and Kool & the ...

The funk classics of Kool and the Gang have found eternal life in everything from stadium pump-up songs to hip-hop samples to wedding parties. Yet more than 50 years after forming, the group itself ...

For anyone growing up in the 1970s or Eighties, the ensemble funk of Kool & the Gang — whose co-founder and chief songwriter Ronald “Khalis” Bell died on Wednesday at age 68 — was irresistible and ...