Patabook: Kool & The Gang founding member Dennis Thomas dies aged 70

&lt;p&gt;Dennis &amp;#8220;Dee Tee&amp;#8221; Thomas, saxophonist and one of the co-founders of soul-funk band Kool &amp;amp; The Gang, has died aged 70.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;A statement from his representative said he died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday in &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://news.sky.com/topic/new-jersey-5742" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;New Jersey&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, where he was a resident of the town of Montclair.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Thomas enjoyed a music career that spanned almost 60 years as an alto sax player, flutist and percussionist in Kool &amp;amp; The Gang, known for mega hits including Celebration and Get Down On It.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;His last appearance with the group was on 4 July at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"&gt; &lt;figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"&gt; &lt;img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/skynews-kool-and-the-gang-dt_5471712.jpg?20210807222713" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/384x216/skynews-kool-and-the-gang-dt_5471712.jpg?20210807222713 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/skynews-kool-and-the-gang-dt_5471712.jpg?20210807222713 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/1600x900/skynews-kool-and-the-gang-dt_5471712.jpg?20210807222713 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/2048x1152/skynews-kool-and-the-gang-dt_5471712.jpg?20210807222713 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="George Brown, Ronald Bell, Dennis Thomas and Robert &amp;amp;#39;Kool&amp;amp;#39; Bell of Kool &amp;amp; The Gang in 2014"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"&gt; &lt;span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden"&gt;Image:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text"&gt;George Brown, Ronald Bell, Dennis Thomas and Robert &amp;#8216;Kool&amp;#8217; Bell of Kool &amp;amp; The Gang in 2014&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;Born on 9 February 1951, in Orlando, &lt;a href="https://news.sky.com/topic/florida-5687" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Florida&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Thomas was known for his prologue on the band&amp;#8217;s 1971 hit, Who&amp;#8217;s Gonna Take The Weight.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region " data-interscroller="true" data-format="floated-mpu" data-role="sticky-region" data-component-name="sdc-site-layout"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__target"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__mask"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__content"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-site-au-wrapper "&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-site-au site-component-vertical-margin" data-ad-format="mpu-1" data-type="" aria-hidden="true"&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;span class="sdc-site-au__label-text" data-label-text="Advertisement"&gt;Advertisement&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;He was also famed for his hip clothes and hats and served as the group&amp;#8217;s wardrobe stylist, as well as their &amp;#8220;budget hawk&amp;#8221; in the early days, carrying their earnings in a paper bag stuffed into the bell of his horn.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In 1964, Thomas was one of seven teenage friends who created the group&amp;#8217;s unique blend of jazz, soul and funk &amp;#8211; first calling themselves the Jazziacs.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-related-stories" data-component-name="sdc-article-related-stories"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-article-related-stories__content"&gt; &lt;h3 class="sdc-article-related-stories__title"&gt;More from Ents &amp;amp; Arts&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;They eventually settled on calling the group Kool &amp;amp; The Gang in 1969.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The other founders are brothers Ronald and Robert Bell, and Spike Mickens, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Kool &amp;amp; The Gang won a slew of honours during their long-standing career, including two Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"&gt; &lt;figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"&gt; &lt;div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"&gt; &lt;img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/skynews-dennis-thomas-kool-and-the-gang_5471715.jpg?20210807222927" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/384x216/skynews-dennis-thomas-kool-and-the-gang_5471715.jpg?20210807222927 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/skynews-dennis-thomas-kool-and-the-gang_5471715.jpg?20210807222927 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/1600x900/skynews-dennis-thomas-kool-and-the-gang_5471715.jpg?20210807222927 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/2048x1152/skynews-dennis-thomas-kool-and-the-gang_5471715.jpg?20210807222927 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="The saxophonist died peacefully in his sleep, according to a statement from his rep"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"&gt; &lt;span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden"&gt;Image:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text"&gt;The saxophonist died peacefully in his sleep, according to a statement from his representative&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Subscribe to the Backstage podcast on &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/backstage-tv-film/id1449619878" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Apple Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0Lmdsb2JhbC5jb20vc2hvdy8zMjg3MjUxL2VwaXNvZGVzL2ZlZWQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Google Podcasts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5lUMl2swObUj56TGMibLzm" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spotify&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/backstage_17" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spreaker&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In 2014, they were honoured with a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award. Their music is also featured on several film soundtracks, such as those for Rocky, Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Thomas is survived by are his wife, Phynjuar Saunders Thomas, daughter Tuesday Rankin, and sons David Thomas and Devin Thomas.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Fans have been paying tribute to the star on social media, with one tweeting: &amp;#8220;Loved this group. RIP Dennis Thomas. Prayers and condolences to the family.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Another said: &amp;#8220;Thank you, Dennis Thomas, for the music that got us through.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The post &lt;a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news/2021/08/07/kool-the-gang-founding-member-dennis-thomas-dies-aged-70/"&gt;Kool &amp;amp; The Gang founding member Dennis Thomas dies aged 70&lt;/a&gt; appeared first on &lt;a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news"&gt;Patabook News &lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

source https://patabook.com/blogs/105463/Kool-The-Gang-founding-member-Dennis-Thomas-dies-aged-70

Patabook

Sunday, 8 August 2021

Kool & The Gang founding member Dennis Thomas dies aged 70

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