Robert “Kool” Bell, the co-founder of Kool & the Gang and bass guitar player, chatted about their latest EP “Kool Summer” and his respected career in the music industry.
He is also a 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as part of Kool & the Gang), and the sole surviving original member of the group.
Colin Powell once said: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” This quote applies to Robert “Kool” Bell.
‘Kool Summer’ EP
Their latest EP “Kool Summer” was just released on Friday, July 25th via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).
Regarding the new EP, he said, “W are spending the summer touring Europe, enjoying the ‘Celebration’ of people all over the world.”
“We try to keep the music ‘Fresh’ and exciting,” he noted. “It has been great hearing the DJs put their spin on our platinum songs; celebrating while we ‘Get Down on It’ the 2025 way. Here’s to hoping everyone has a ‘Kool’ Summer.”
Favorite song from the EP
Speaking of the EP, he listed “Fresh” as his favorite track on there.
Music and songwriting inspirations
On his music and songwriting inspirations, Kool said, “A lot of the songwriting for the band was done by the late George Brown and my brother Ronald ‘Khalis Bayyan’ Bell, but I came up with the title ‘Ladies’ Night.’ I was hanging out with my wife at Studio 54 with James (JT), Taylor and we noticed that every weekend there was a ladies night. JT had just joined the band and we just got a lead singer.”
“I went back to the guys and I told them that I had a great song for them and for JT to sing it. I told them it was called ‘Ladies’ Night.’ They told me they have those all over the world,” he elaborated.
“After that came ‘Celebration’ because the tag of ‘Ladies’ Night’ is ‘come on let’s all celebrate, this is your night’ and then, my brother came up with an idea for another song called ‘Celebration,’ and it came from ‘Ladies’ Night’,” he explained.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In 2024, Kool & the Gang was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the “Performers” category.
In a career that has lasted over 50 years, Kool & the Gang was credited for being “essential innovators in the sound of funk, soul, disco, Motown, and R&B, creating rock & roll’s most danceable anthems.”
On his induction into the coveted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he said with a sweet laugh, “It’s about time, right?” “I felt very good about that,” he admitted. “Of course, I was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and Cleveland is like next door.”
“Then, in the last 20 years, Elton John, Van Halen, Dire Straits, and Dave Matthews Band were all getting inducted into the Rock Hall. I said to myself: ‘isn’t it called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?’ We’ve been playing for all these rock acts, and I asked myself: ‘When are they going to give us some love?’ and it finally happened last year,” he explained.
2025 Summer Tour
On their 2025 Summer Tour, he said, “We sell out. Some of them are just our shows, some of them are festivals; it has been great.”
“I was on the road for 30 days, and I just got back from Europe,” he admitted. “We are going out in a few days for part II of our European tour.”
Future plans
On their future plans, he said , “We have to go back to Europe for the second half of the European Tour. We are looking into a major tour next year.”
He continued, “Right now, I have Le Kool Champagne, and I have a deal with Accutron Legacy Watches. So, what I want to do is Le Kool Champagne and Accutron presents ‘The Kool & The Gang Rock the World’ Tour. I’ll tie it with my watch and I’ll tie it with champagne, so of course, every day is Kool & the Gang for the next year.”
“It is great to partner this amazing brand with my champagne Le Kool, which has been a passion of mine ever since touring Europe,” he recalled. “The Le Kool Legacy watches inspired by our many champagnes are a moment of pride for me as I have always celebrated women through my music and in life.”
“I have coconut water that is coming out this summer, and it’s called ‘Kool King Coconut Water’,” he revealed.
Key to longevity in the entertainment business
Regarding the key to longevity in the music and entertainment industry, he shared, “First of all, it’s the fans, because they love us. I’m the last original member standing in the band.”
“Our parents always told us to stick together and that’s what we did,” he said. “We had problems sometimes, but for every problem, there is a solution.”
“So, in our days, we came up with the solutions together. ‘Fresh’ was a saying in the studio. JT, Sandy, and my brother came up with the song ‘Fresh’ so we tried to keep our ears on the street,” he noted.
“Our hit song ‘Celebration’ is over 30 years old, and it sounds like a brand new record,” he added.
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, at a time when streaming, technology and social media are so prevalent, he said, “It feels great! My son is more on top of that, but it feels great to be a part of what is going on with Universal Music.”
Kool Kids Foundation
Kool Kids Foundation is a foundation fueled by the passion and vision of Robert and his late wife, Sakinah Bell. Their shared dream was to create a positive impact in the lives of young children attending underfunded school districts.
The foundation recognizes the significance of music as a powerful force for growth and inspiration. Robert and Sakinah dedicated themselves to ensuring that children with a passion for music had access to the proper musical instruments.
“When I was younger, they had music in the schools but now, they don’t have that anymore,” he noted. “My wife started the Kool Kids Foundation before she passed, and that’s another thing we are doing with the kids in schools.”
“It has been very successful,” he said about the foundation. We just celebrated our golf outing as we raised money for the kids.”
Advice for young and emerging artists
For young and aspiring artists, he said, “To work hard and be serious about what you are doing. Learn more about the business side as well as the music side.”
“Also, on the music side, try to stay creative because so much sounds alike these days,” he noted.
“Back in the day, an Earth, Wind & Fire song sounded like an Earth, Wind & Fire song, and a Kool & the Gang song sounded like a Kool & the Gang song. Today, I don’t even know what is going on,” he said with a sweet laugh.
“When they say ‘streaming,’ I don’t know what that is going into and what is happening now,” he admitted. “We don’t get paid for that even though we should.”
Kool & the Gang — The most-sampled band in hip-hop music history
Kool & the Gang has been sampled in the music of so many other contemporary artists such as Mase, Will Smith, Jade, Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliott, and DJ Kool, among countless others.
“That’s a great thing,” he said. “We are actually the most sampled band in the music business, especially in hip-hop.”
“Outside of that, Madonna used a piece of one of our songs (“Jungle Boogie”) for one of her records and so did Janet Jackson. Hip-hop is where all this sampling is happening,” he noted.
“The fact that we are the most sampled band in hip-hop makes us the most sampled band in the world,” he acknowledged.
Career-defining moments
On his career-defining moments, he shared, “The first one was in London with Elton John.”
“We had over 80,000 people at the show, and we also played with Rod Stewart. There was a lot of great moments with people we played for such as the late Sammy Davis Jr. Sammy was a great actor and a great entertainer,” he said.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “Be Kool.”
“There was a John Travolta movie called ‘Be Cool’,” he said. “So, it’s cool to ‘Be Kool’.”
Greece
When asked if he ever visited Greece, he responded, “The first time we ever left the country, we went to Athens, Greece. Then, we went on to England and France.”
Success
Regarding his definition of the word success, he said, “Success, to me, is that I arrived at what I tried to accomplish. Success in the music industry has had hills and valleys.”
“Success is to be able to have what we have had. When you have The Muppets doing ‘Jungle Boogie’ or ‘Celebration’ or ‘Fresh.’ NFL games, NBA games, and New Balance also use our music regularly,” he elaborated.
Message for the fans
For his long-time fans, he said, “I want to thank my fans for supporting Kool & the Gang over the years; they have been faithful.”
“Two years into COVID, when nothing was going on, we came up with our ‘People Just Wanna Have Fun’ album and we finally went back to Europe; those people were so happy to see us after two years of COVID, so it felt like a really good celebration,” he elaborated.
“We see a lot of our fans, many of which are multi-generational, in the summer festivals,” he acknowledged.
“The fans have been so loyal. I love my fans for all that they have done supporting Kool & the Gang over the years,” he said, effusively.
Their “Kool Summer” EP is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Kool & the Gang, visit their official website, and follow them on Instagram.
