Ronald Bell

Ronald Nathan Bell (November 1, 1951 – September 9, 2020), also known as Khalis Bayyan, was an American composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, saxophonist and co-founding member of Kool & the Gang. The band recorded nine No. 1 R&B singles in the 1970s and 1980s, including its No. 1 pop single "Celebration". The group is honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Bell was born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Aminah Bayyan (1932–2014) and Robert "Bobby" Bell (1929–1985). His father was a professional boxer and Golden Gloves amateur boxing winner. Training in Elwood, New York, he hung out with jazz players and became friends with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, who lived in the same apartment building as the elder Bell.

Ronald Bell and his brother, Robert "Kool" Bell, were introduced to jazz at around five or six. The family moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1960. In 1964, the brothers joined neighborhood friends Spike Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown, and Charles Smith to create a distinctive musical blend of jazz, soul, and funk. At first calling themselves "The Jazziacs", the band went through various name changes—the New Dimensions, the Soul Town Band, and Kool & the Flames—before settling on Kool & the Gang in 1968.