What Was Ronald Bell’s Net Worth?
Ronald Bell was an American saxophonist, composer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and singer who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death in 2020. Ronald Bell was a founding member of the group Kool & the Gang, and he was in the band from 1964 to 1989 and 1992 until 2020. Between the band’s inception in 1964 and his death in 2020, Ronald played on all of the band’s albums except 1989’s “Sweat.” The group has released more than two dozen studio albums, and nine of them have been certified Gold or higher in the U.S. Kool & the Gang’s most popular singles include “Ladies’ Night,” “Too Hot,” “Celebration,” “Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It),” “Get Down on It,” “Joanna,” “Fresh,” “Cherish,” “Victory,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging” and “Higher Plane.” In 1979, they won a Grammy for Album of the Year as part of the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. They were also nominated for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for the 1974 album “Light Of Worlds” and Best Inspirational Performance for the 1984 song “You Are the One.”
Early Life
Ronald Bell was born Ronald Nathan Bell on November 1, 1951, in Youngstown, Ohio. He was the son of Aminah Bayyan and professional boxer Robert “Bobby” Bell. While training in Elwood, New York, his father lived in the same building as Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis and became friends with them. Ronald and his brother Robert “Kool” Bell were introduced to jazz at a young age. In 1960, the Bell family moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, and four years later, Ronald and Robert formed a band called The Jazziacs with some neighborhood friends. The band played jazz, funk, and soul and later became known as the Soul Town Band, the New Dimensions, and Kool & the Flames before settling on the name Kool & the Gang in the late ’60s.
(Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Career
After the Bell brothers formed Kool & the Gang, the band released a self-titled album in 1969. Their first three albums made it onto the “Billboard” Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, but they didn’t crack the top 10 until 1973’s “Wild and Peaceful.” Their albums “Spirit of the Boogie” (1975), “Love & Understanding” (1976), and “Open Sesame” (1976) also reached the top 10. The 1973 single “Funky Stuff” was the band’s first top 10 hit on the “Billboard” Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and 1974’s “Hollywood Swinging” was the first to top that chart. In the late ’70s, James “J.T.” Taylor became Kool & the Gang’s lead vocalist, and their first album with him, 1979’s “Ladies’ Night,” reached #13 on the “Billboard” 200 chart and #1 on the “Billboard” Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. “Ladies’ Night” was the first Kool & the Gang album to be certified Platinum. The album featured the singles “Ladies’ Night” and “Too Hot,” which were top 10 hits on the “Billboard” Hot 100 chart and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (“Ladies’ Night reached #1 on this chart).
In 1980, the band released another Platinum album, “Celebrate!,” which reached #10 on the “Billboard” 200 chart and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The single “Celebration” topped the charts in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand and was certified Platinum in the U.S. and Canada. Bell said that “Celebration” was his favorite Kool & the Gang song and that a passage in the Quran inspired him to write it. After the success of “Celebration,” the band released the Platinum album “Something Special” (1981) and the Gold album “As One” (1982). “Something Special” reached #12 on the “Billboard” 200 chart and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and “As One” peaked at #29 on the “Billboard” 200 chart and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. “Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)” and “Get Down on It” from “Something Special” reached #1 and #4, respectively, on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. “As One” featured two singles that were top 10 hits on that chart, “Big Fun” and “Let’s Go Dancin’ (Ooh La, La, La).”
The group’s next three albums, “In the Heart” (1983), “Emergency” (1984), and “Forever” (1986), reached the top 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. “Emergency” was certified 2× Platinum, while the other two albums went Gold. “Joanna” from “In the Heart” reached #2 on the “Billboard” 200 chart and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, as did “Cherish” from “Emergency.” The single “Fresh,” also from “Emergency,” was a #1 hit on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and three singles from “Forever” reached the top 10 on that chart. Ronald left the band in the late ’80s and did not perform on the 1989 album “Sweat,” but he reunited with the band by the time they recorded 1992’s “Unite.” The band then released the albums “State of Affairs” (1996), “Gangland” (2001), and “The Hits: Reloaded” (2004), followed by 2007’s “Still Kool,” which peaked at #31 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and went Platinum in France. The band released the album “Kool for the Holidays” in 2013, and 2021’s “Perfect Union” was the last album to feature Ronald. Bell wrote and produced many of the band’s songs, including “Jungle Boogie,” “Cherish,” and “Open Sesame.”
Personal Life and Death
In 1972, Ronald converted to Islam. He joined The Nation of Islam, and Imam Warith Deen Mohammed gave him the name Khalis Bayyan. Bell was married to Tia Sinclair for more than 25 years, until his death in 2020. He was previously married to Pamela Nasim Bell and Yacine Bell. Ronald had 10 children all total, including one with Tia, three with Pamela, and four with Yacine. His son Rachid became a singer and had a hit on the “Billboard” Dance Club Songs chart with the 1998 single “Pride.” Bell passed away on September 9, 2020, at his home in the Virgin Islands at the age of 68. According to Ronald’s publicist, his death was sudden.
Awards and Nominations
Kool & the Gang has earned 11 American Music Award nominations, winning for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group in 1982, 1983, and 1986, Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group Video Artist in 1987, and Favorite Soul/R&B Album for “Emergency” in 1986. At the “Soul Train” Awards, they received a nomination for Album of the Year – Group, Duo, or Band for “Forever” in 1987 and the Legend Award in 2014. The group was honored with an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2003 MOBO Awards and a Golden Camera for Lifetime Achievement at the 2014 Golden Camera Awards. They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and they have been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame (2007) and have been announced as 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. In 2018, Ronald was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with his brother Robert and their bandmates James “J.T.” Taylor and George Brown.
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