Latest news with #Kool&theGang
New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Jets and Giants can only hope to recreate the drought-ending magic of 1981
Here is what I wish for you, dear reader, no matter which side of the football divide you may hang your hat. I wish for you a return trip to the fall and early winter of 1981. 'Chariots of Fire' was the big picture in theaters. 'Celebration,' the perennially ubiquitous Kool & the Gang song, was on endless loop on the radio. 'Dallas,' of course, was the No. 1 TV show. And New York football emerged from protracted hibernation. Advertisement How bad was it then? Put it this way: The Giants played the Bears in the NFL title game on Dec. 29, 1963 — barely a month after the JFK assassination. That would be the last time they made the playoffs in the LBJ administration, and they would take a full pass on the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations. Eighteen years and 17 seasons passed without a single playoff appearance. How bad was it? Put it this way: The Jets played their last game as defending champions of the NFL with 11 days left in the 1960s. They lost that day to the Chiefs in a wind-swept Shea Stadium in an AFL playoff game, then took a full pass on the entirety of the '70s without again making postseason.
New Straits Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Kool & the Gang's Michael Sumler dies in car crash at 71
LOS ANGELES: Michael Sumler, also known as Chicago Mike, who served as a hype man and stylist for the soul-funk band Kool & the Gang, died on Sunday in a car crash in Georgia. He was 71. His death was confirmed by a band spokesman, according to the Los Angeles Times. Atlanta TV station 11Alive reported that Sumler was killed when his car collided with another vehicle on Veterans Memorial Highway in Georgia's Cobb County. Sumler had performed on Sunday evening with the group Con Funk Shun, whose member Michael Cooper paid tribute, saying, "We had no idea that Sunday night's Love's Train would be your last ride. Rest in heavenly peace." Kool & the Gang, known for hits such as 'Ladies Night' and 'Celebration', described Sumler as their "longtime wardrobe valet" from 2000 to 2015, ensuring the band "looked their best on stage every night." He also "hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves." The group, formed in the mid-1960s, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year and is recognised as "the most sampled group in hip-hop history."
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mike Sumler, Kool & the Gang Hype Man, Dies at 71
Mike Sumler, hype man of the Grammy Award-winning group Kool & the Gang, has died. He was 71. Sumler died in a car crash during Memorial Day weekend, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The R&B group confirmed his death in a Wednesday post on X. More from The Hollywood Reporter Taylor Swift Buys Back Rights To Her First Six Albums Years After Scooter Braun Drama Who's Who in the Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial: Key Witnesses, Industry Enablers and Victims So Far Miley Cyrus Releases Ninth Album, 'Something Beautiful' 'We're deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our longtime wardrobe valet, Mike Sumler,' Kool & the Gang wrote. 'Mike worked alongside Kool & the Gang from 2000-2015, making sure the guys looked their best on stage every night. He also hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves at the.' Sumler first crossed paths with the group in 1985 when he was performing with his own band, Power Pac. He looked back on the experience of meeting Kool & the Gang in a 2018 interview with Kelly Talk Show when he said that 'One of the Kool & the Gang security guys caught our act in the club in Chicago and we became friends.' He continued to travel with the group as their stylist-choreographer, but 'once they saw that I could do some other things, they said we need to have you onstage.' That's when Sumler joined the 'Get Down on It' hitmakers as their hype man; he went on to provide background vocals for their music. Kool & the Gang has earned three Grammy nominations and one win in 1979 for album of the year for their work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015 and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
American Military News
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- American Military News
Kool & the Gang's Michael Sumler dies in car crash at 71
Michael Sumler, who spent years working with the venerable soul-funk group Kool & the Gang as both an onstage hype man and a behind-the-scenes stylist, died Sunday in a car crash in Georgia. He was 71. His death was confirmed by a spokesman for the band. 11Alive, a TV station in Atlanta, reported that Sumler was killed after his car collided with another vehicle as he was traveling on Veterans Memorial Highway in Georgia's Cobb County. Sumler, who was known as Chicago Mike, had performed Sunday evening in Mableton, Georgia, with the group Con Funk Shun, whose Michael Cooper paid tribute to Sumler on social media. 'We had no idea that Sunday night's Love's Train would be your last ride,' Cooper wrote. 'Rest in heavenly piece.' In its statement, Kool & the Gang described Sumler as 'our longtime wardrobe valet' and said he worked with the band from 2000 to 2015, 'making sure the guys looked their best on stage every night.' Sumler 'also hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves at the top of the show,' the group added. Known for hits including 'Ladies Night,' 'Jungle Boogie,' 'Get Down on It' and 'Celebration,' Kool & the Gang was formed in the mid-1960s in Jersey City, New Jersey, by brothers Robert Bell (who went by Kool) and Ronald Khalis Bell along with several neighborhood pals. Khalis Bell died in 2020; George 'Funky' Brown, the band's founding drummer, died in 2023. Last year the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which called Kool & the Gang 'the most sampled group in hip-hop history.' Among the countless songs that have borrowed elements of Kool & the Gang's music: Nas' 'N.Y. State of Mind,' Mase's 'Feel So Good,' Luniz's 'I Got 5 on It,' the Wu-Tang Clan's 'Method Man' and 'Summertime' by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. In 2021, Kool & the Gang became the first act to perform for a full-capacity crowd at the Hollywood Bowl after a lengthy and unprecedented closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Information on Sumler's survivors wasn't immediately available. ___ © 2025 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Los Angeles Times
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Kool & the Gang's Michael Sumler dies in car crash at 71
Michael Sumler, who spent years working with the venerable soul-funk group Kool & the Gang as both an onstage hype man and a behind-the-scenes stylist, died Sunday in a car crash in Georgia. He was 71. His death was confirmed by a spokesman for the band. 11Alive, a TV station in Atlanta, reported that Sumler was killed after his car collided with another vehicle as he was traveling on Veterans Memorial Highway in Georgia's Cobb County. Sumler, who was known as Chicago Mike, had performed Sunday evening in Mableton, Ga., with the group Con Funk Shun, whose Michael Cooper paid tribute to Sumler on social media. 'We had no idea that Sunday night's Love's Train would be your last ride,' Cooper wrote. 'Rest in heavenly piece.' In its statement, Kool & the Gang described Sumler as 'our longtime wardrobe valet' and said he worked with the band from 2000 to 2015, 'making sure the guys looked their best on stage every night.' Sumler 'also hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves at the top of the show,' the group added. Known for hits including 'Ladies Night,' 'Jungle Boogie,' 'Get Down on It' and 'Celebration,' Kool & the Gang was formed in the mid-1960s in Jersey City, N.J., by brothers Robert Bell (who went by Kool) and Ronald Khalis Bell along with several neighborhood pals. Khalis Bell died in 2020; George 'Funky' Brown, the band's founding drummer, died in 2023. Last year the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which called Kool & the Gang 'the most sampled group in hip-hop history.' Among the countless songs that have borrowed elements of Kool & the Gang's music: Nas' 'N.Y. State of Mind,' Mase's 'Feel So Good,' Luniz's 'I Got 5 on It,' the Wu-Tang Clan's 'Method Man' and 'Summertime' by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. In 2021, Kool & the Gang became the first act to perform for a full-capacity crowd at the Hollywood Bowl after a lengthy and unprecedented closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Information on Sumler's survivors wasn't immediately available.
