American musician Dennis “D.T.” Thomas, one of the founders of Kool & The Gang, responsible for topics such as “Celebration” and “Get Down On It”, passed away this Saturday at the age of 70.
Dennis Thomas died “peacefully in his sleep” at home in New Jersey, USA, the Associated Press reports, citing a statement from a spokesman for the musician.
Dennis Thomas, born February 9, 1951 in Orlando, Florida, was a saxophonist, flutist and percussionist for Kool & The Gang, as well as the “master of ceremonies” at the band’s concerts.
He last performed with Kool & The Gang on July 4 this year at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
In 1964, seven friends formed a band that mixed jazz, soul and funk, which they initially called the Jazziacs and which, after adopting other names such as New Dimensions and the Soul Town Band in 1969, eventually became Kool & The Gang.
Besides Dennis Thomas, brothers Ronald and Robert Bell, Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith were other founding members of the group.
Ronald Bell passed away on September 9 last year at the age of 68.
It was during the 1970s that Kool & The Gang experienced their most successful period when most of the songs were written by Ronald Bell, a self-taught musician, including “Celebration”, “Cherish”, “Jungle Boogie” and “Summer Madness”. “.
According to Consequence of Sound, the band has edited over two dozen albums over the course of their career and sold over 70 million records worldwide.
