Ronald Bell

Ronald Nathan Bell (November 1, 1951 – September 9, 2020), also known as Khalis Bayyan, was an American composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, and co-founding member of Kool & the Gang. The group is honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Songwriters 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.

The family moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1960. In 1964, the young Ronald Bell and his brother, Robert "Kool" Bell, 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.

Bell composed, arranged, produced and performed some of the most popular music. He was a self-taught musician, and his distinctive sound is on the group's horn lines, bass, synthesizer and vocals. He wrote and produced many of the band's songs including "Celebration", "Cherish", "Jungle Boogie", "Summer Madness", and "Open Sesame". He said his favorite song was "Celebration", which he wrote after picking up a Bible in a hotel room.

Bell was Muslim, and was given the name Khalis Bayyan by Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. He was married to Tia Sinclair Bell and had 10 children. His son, Rachid, released his debut album in 1998.

Bell died at his home in the United States Virgin Islands on September 9, 2020, at age 68. No cause was given, but the death was described as sudden.