(From left) US singers Dennis Thomas, George Brown, Robert ‘Kool’ Bell, and Ronald Bell, from the band Kool & The Gang arrive for the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards in Manhattan, New York June 14, 2018. — Reuters pic

NEW YORK, Sept 10 ― Ronald Bell ― a co-founder of Kool and the Gang, the heavyweight funk group behind hits like Celebration, Jungle Boogie and Ladies' Night ― died yesterday. He was 68 years old.