Kool & the Gang star Ronald Bell dead at 68

Kool & The Gang co-founder Ronald Bell has died, aged 68.

The multi-instrumentalist died at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday morning.

Bell formed the Jazziacs with his brother Robert 'Kool' Bell, and pals Spike Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky West, George Brown and Charles Smith in the mid-1960s. They became Kool & The Gang in 1969.

Ronald wrote or co-wrote and produced many of the group's hits, including Celebration, Ladies' Night, and Cherish.

In addition to his work with Kool & the Gang, Bell also produced and arranged tracks for artists like the Fugees, Jimmy Cliff, and House of Pain.

At the time of his death, he was working on various collaborations, a solo project called the Kool Baby Brotha Band, and a series of animated shorts about his life, called Kool TV.