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me personally, I grew up w/all facets of their music, starting w/Jungle Boogie

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/0 ... index.html - cnn.com'

Kool & the Gang co-founder dead

Claydes Charles Smith co-wrote 'Celebration,' 'Jungle Boogie'

Friday, June 23, 2006; Posted: 8:38 a.m. EDT (12:38 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Claydes Charles Smith, a co-founder and lead guitarist of the group Kool & the Gang, has died. He was 57.

Smith died Tuesday in Maplewood, New Jersey, after a long illness, his publicist said.

Kool & the Gang grew from jazz roots in the 1960s to become one of the major groups of the 1970s, blending jazz, funk, R&B and pop. After a downturn, the group enjoyed a return to stardom in the '80s.

Smith wrote the hits "Joanna" and "Take My Heart," and was a co-writer of others, including "Celebration," "Hollywood Swinging" and "Jungle Boogie."

Smith was introduced to jazz guitar by his father in the early 1960s.

Later in that decade, he was in a group of New Jersey jazz musicians, including Ronald Bell (later Khalis Bayyan), Robert "Kool" Bell, George Brown, Dennis Thomas and Robert "Spike" Mickens, who became Kool & the Gang. Other members would include lead singer James "JT" Taylor.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

tamra,
i loved the song Hollywood Swinging.....an Jungle Boogie.....he was a talented world figure.....condolences

tamra,
WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Ah damn!!!!

deepseas,

ain't THAT the truth!! I always loved the tune "Summer Madness", it was one of the purest examples of musical expression that I had heard.

It's Sad day


Peace gee

tamra,

How the hell did I miss this?

JTF,

ok let's back track for a second. what were u doing on June 23, 2006? start with the morning hours...

but his death was a brief blurb, unless he died screwing Paris Hilton or Brittany Spears would never know much about it. different media priorities

tamra, it was like that when Roger from Zap died.

Murphdogg,

Roger Troutman is dead? when did that happen?

j/k actually his death was much talked about off the news more because of how he died, kind of like a Marvin Gaye ending. but in the media, don't remember much about him.

I hadn't heard about Claydes either. Did they even show him when they do those tributes at the Grammy's for the people in music that died for that year?

Did Roger Troutman get into an argument with a cousin and the cousin killed him then killed himself or was that Slick Rick?