Latest news with #LadiesNight
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- 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."
American Military News
3 days ago
- 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.
The Star
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Kool & The Gang's Michael Sumler dies in car crash at 71
In its statement, Kool & The Gang described Michael Sumler (far left) as 'our longtime wardrobe valet' and said he worked with the band from 2000 to 2015. Photos: Facebook 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 travelling 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 neighbourhood pals. 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." Information on Sumler's survivors wasn't immediately available. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- 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.
7NEWS
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Chicago Mike killed in crash: Kool & the Gang pay tribute to onstage hype man Michael Sumler
Music legend and longtime member of iconic R&B band Kool & the Gang, Michael Sumler has died aged 71. He was killed in a highway car crash at Mableton, in the US state of Georgia, on Sunday, the city Mayor Michael Owens said. 'We are saddened by the death of musician Mike Sumler. 'Chicago Mike' contributed so much to the music and entertainment communities. His style and energy added flare and excitement to Kool & the Gang for decades,' Owen s said. 'I join his friends, family and fans in mourning his loss.' Sumler, also known as 'Chicago Mike', recalled his first meeting with members of Kool & the Gang in 1985, in an interview on the Kelly Talk Show in 2018. Sumler said had been in his own band, Power Pac, before he met one of the Kool & the Gang security guards who introduced him to members of Kool & the Gang who were eager to immediately bring him on board. This was about 20 years after the group first formed as a jazz band known as the Jazziacs — by the late 80s, Kool & the Gang had transformed into a funk, pop, and R&B group in the peak of its popularity. It was already famous for hit songs Emergency, Too Hot, Celebration, Ladies Night, and Get Down On It. Sumler was initially brought on as the band's stylist and hype man, opening their shows with the dance moves and energy he became known for, but he also contributed as a backup singer and choreographer. Robert 'Kool' Bell, is the only surviving founding member of Kool & the Gang, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 Kool & the Gang also paid tribute to Sumler on X: 'We're deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our longtime wardrobe valet, Mike Sumler.' '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 shows.'
