Kool & the Gang have received a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination.
Jersey City’s Kool & the Gang have been nominated for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. Joining them on the ballot are Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Cher, The Dave Matthews Band, Eric B. & Rakim, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Jane’s Addiction, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinéad O’Connor, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade and A Tribe Called Quest. (Osbourne is already in the Hall as a member of Black Sabbath but is being nominated as a solo artist.)
Though originally from New York, Blige has also lived in New Jersey for many years.
Kool & the Gang, originally formed as The Jazziacs in 1964, adopted that name in 1969. They had their first hit that year, with the instrumental “Kool & the Gang”; their first Top 10 hit in 1973, with “Jungle Boogie”; and peaked in popularity in the late ’70s and early ’80s with songs such as “Celebration,” “Joanna,” “Fresh” and “Cherish.”
Co-founder Robert “Kool” Bell said on social media: “We are honored to be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024. We started out as the Jazziacs, seven Jazz enthusiasts still in grammar school. We could have never imagined our passion for music would take us around the world and into the songbook of American popular music. Of our original magnificent seven, my brother Ronald Khalis Bell, Dennis ‘Dee Tee’ Thomas, George ‘Funky’ Brown, Claydes ‘Charles’ Smith, Robert ‘Spike’ Mickens and Richerd ‘Ricky’ Westfield, I am the surviving member and of course, James ‘JT’ Taylor who joined us for the amazing ride of the 80s. Thank you to our fans and everyone who has loved and supported us. Don’t ever stop celebrating this amazing ride called life!”
Among those who are eligible but not nominated were Coldplay, Jethro Tull, The Monkees, Iron Maiden, Warren Zevon, Smashing Pumpkins, Brian Eno, Joy Division, Bad Company, New York Dolls, Television, Tommy James, Sonic Youth, Beck, Gram Parsons, MC5, Soundgarden, De La Soul, Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Wilco, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
The date and the location of the induction ceremony have not been announced yet. For updates, visit rockhall.com.
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