George “Funky” Brown, drummer and co-founder of Kool & the Gang, has died at the age of 74.
A rep for the band confirmed to PEOPLE on Friday that he died “peacefully” in Long Beach, California on Thursday, Nov. 16, surrounded by loved ones.
Brown’s family shared a statement about his death. “Last night we lost our beloved husband and father, Kool & The Gang founder George Brown,” the statement read. “He passed away peacefully at Long Beach Memorial Hospital surrounded by his family.”
The statement concluded: “His incredible talent and presence will be sorely missed and never forgotten.”
George Brown of Kool & the Gang.
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
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Although the cause of death has not been released at this time, KCAL reported in October that the musician had stage 4 lung cancer.
Brown was among the founders of the iconic funk group Kool & the Gang. While still a teenager, he joined brothers Ronald “Khalis” Bell and Robert “Kool” Bell as they set out to form a band in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964, along with friends Charles Smith, Dennis “DT” Thomas, Ricky West and Robert “Spike” Mickens.
After first calling themselves the Jazziacs and changing their moniker several times, the group that fuses jazz, funk, soul, rock and pop officially debuted as Kool & the Gang with their self-titled debut in 1969. The group went on to help define the soulful sound of the ’70s and became one of the most legendary funk bands of all time.
According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Brown was one of the group’s primary songwriters — helping to create hits such as “Celebration,” “Cherish,” “Get Down On It,” “Jungle Boogie” and “Ladies Night,” among many others. .
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Kool & the Gang.
Michael Ochs/Getty Archive
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The Grammy-winning hitmakers have received many accolades throughout their career, including induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Soul Train Legend Award. In 2020, their classic 1980 song “Celebration” was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
The multi-instrumentalist opened up about life with stage 4 lung cancer in an October interview with KCAL. The paper reported that Brown stopped touring due to illness three years ago, and returned to tour in 2022 after recovering. In 2023, the cancer returned and he continued treatment.
Brown, who also played keyboards, spoke to NPR Weekend edition Sunday interview about the legacy of the band “Too Hot” earlier this year in an interview.
When asked how he would describe their sound, he said: “The sound of happiness.”
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The drummer also talked about what made the funk group successful. He said: “It’s chemistry. If the chemistry is there, bingo, it works. And you want to make it happen, you want to see people happy and you want to be successful at it. And you want to help create a culture, a world culture, where people come together to that music. That music brings people together and makes this one-world culture bigger than it was before.”
He continued: “And when you make music that’s happy music, that’s what it does. It brings people to the clubs to have a good time. And that’s what we do. Let’s pray before we go and say, let’s go make some people happy.”
Robert “Kool” Bell is the sole survivor, founder of Kool & the Gang.
Brown is survived by his wife and five children, TMZ writes.
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Source: HIS Education