Kool & The Gang Honored With A ‘Celebration’ For Their 50th Anniversary With A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Watch Kool & The Gang unveil their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame below.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce proudly honored Kool & The Gang: Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Khalis BellDennis “DT” Thomas and George Brownwith the 2,560th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, October 8, 2015. The star in the category of Recording was dedicated at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard next to the stars of such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Parker Jr., The Funk Brothers, Herbie Hancock, John Denver and many others.
“Kool & the Gang and their signature sounds will bring back great memories to music lovers everywhere!” stated Ana Martinez, Producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies. “Their music career has been a part of the lives of many generations everywhere and fans will be singing and dancing along with Kool & The Gang’s music for many, many more years.”
Helping emcee and Hollywood Chamber President/CEO Leron Gubler to unveil the star were Jermaine Jackson and music producer Vincent Herbert.
The star ceremony was streamed live exclusively on www.walkoffame.com.
Kool & The Gang are currently celebrating their 50th anniversary and a career that has stood the test of time with timeless hits spanning several decades and provided worldwide musical influence for three generations. The band has soldover70-millionalbumsworldwide to date; and hasearnedtwoGrammyAwards,sevenAmericanMusicAwards,31Gold andPlatinumalbums, 25 Top Ten R&B hits and nine Top Ten pop hits.
In 1964, Robert “Kool” Bell joined his brother Ronald Bell and Jersey City neighborhood friends Robert “Spike” Mickens, George Brown, Ricky Westfield, Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, and Claydes “Charles” Smith to create the Kool & the Gang sound – a unique blend of jazz, soul and funk.
Throughout the seventies, this blend produced a string of hits including “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Funky Stuff,” and “Summer Madness”. In 1979, the group entered the pop market by incorporating the smooth sounds of vocalist James “JT” Taylor along with their infectious formula for making hits.
The famous American disc jockey Casey Kasem named Kool & the Gang the band of the eighties noting the band’s steady stream of hits during the decade. Hit songs such as “Ladies Night,” “Get Down on It,” “Joanna,” and the theme song to parties worldwide, “Celebration,” solidified Kool & the Gang’s musical legacy.
With the explosion of hip-hop in the ’90s, Kool & the Gang’s incredible and widely-sampled catalog of grooves made them DJ favorites, solidifying their place as the most sampled band in the genre – but the band’s drum beats, bass, guitar and signature horn lines found their way outside hip-hop as well and have laced the tracks of numerous chart-topping artists including the Beastie Boys,
Jay-Z, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Cypress Hill, and Puff Daddy.
Kool & the Gang has had their music featured on the soundtracks of such movies as Rocky, Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, Wreck-It Ralph among countless others. In addition, the band has continued to tour the world, appearing with artists such as Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band, Elton John, The Roots, and a 50-city tour with Van Halen.
Kool & The Gang are very involved with philanthropy and have worked with such organizations as Boys and Girls Club of America, Children’s Miracle Network, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Susan G. Komen Foundation, United Negro College Fund and much more.
On October 22, 2015, Kool & the Gang will receive a nod from their home state and be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. In the same month, and, in the town they sing about in one of their earliest hits, “Hollywood Swinging,” Kool & the Gang took their place as American musical icons with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME www.WalkOfFame.com
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is an internationally-recognized Hollywood icon. With approximately 24 star ceremonies annually broadcast around the world, the constant reinforcement provided to the public has made the Walk of Fame a top visitor attraction. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce continues to add stars on the Walk of Fame as the representative of the City of Los Angeles. The Walk of Fame is a tribute to all of those who worked diligently to develop the concept and to maintain this world-class tourist attraction. The Walk of Fame is open to the public. No paid admission or assigned seating at star ceremonies. It is understood that the cost of installing a star on the Walk of Fame upon approval is $30,000 and the sponsor of the nominee accepts the responsibility for arranging for payment to the Hollywood Historic Trust, a 501(c)3 charitable foundation. The funds are used to pay for the creation/installation of the star and ceremony, as well as maintenance of the Walk of Fame. Download the official app for iPhones and Android devices at http://officialhollywoodwalkoffameapp.com
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