Robert “Kool” Bell, a founding member of Kool & The Gang, sat down for his first-ever VladTV interview, where he started off speaking about growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey, after being born in Ohio. He explained that Jersey City was “rough,” and Robert spoke about coming up with the “Kool” nickname after moving there. During the conversation, Robert spoke about his musical journey started when he was a kid, and he detailed learning to play the guitar. This led to Robert speaking about how “Kool & The Gang” was started and how they went through various name changes, including “Kool & The Flames.” Robert also spoke about how the group has become one of the most sampled groups in history, and he argued with James Brown’s claims that he was the most sampled artist. After speaking about “Kool & The Gang” having a string of successful regional hits, Robert detailed how they came up with “Hollywood Swinging,” “Jungle Boogie,” and “Funky Stuff” in one studio session. From there, Robert spoke about coming up with “Ladies’ Night,” their first song with their new lead singer, J.T. Taylor, and the group going on to release “Celebration,” which went #1. To hear more, including Robert speaking about “Kool & The Gang” getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame but not getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, hit the full interview above.
Speak On It!