Last Friday night, iconic soul and funk group Kool & the Gang were honored with the Legend Award for making 50 years of chart-topping music at the Soul Train Awards 2014. The award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding achievements and contribution to soul music, was accepted by the group – Robert “Kool” Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown and Dennis Thomas – after a star-studded musical tribute to their legacy and continued relevancy. The show will air on BET and Centric on November 30 at 8pm ET/PT.
Following the band’s acceptance of the award, where they thanked their fans for the continued support throughout the years, Missy Elliott, Lil Kim and Da Brat hit the stage to honor the band with their Kool & the Gang sampled track “Not Tonight” which also included a video homage to the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes for her verse.
Continuing the celebration, Kool & the Gang performed a sold out Soul Train Review show at the Orleans Showroom on Sunday, treating the crowd to some of their biggest hits.
On Friday, Kool & the Gang will appear on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” sitting in with The Roots for the entire show. The Tonight Show airs at 11:35/10:35c.
This Saturday, Kool & the Gang will perform in Little Rock, AR at the Clinton Foundation’s “Celebrate 10: A Community Concert” an intimate musical event honoring a decade of the Clinton Presidential Center in partnership with the Arkansas Foodbank. President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton will all be in attendance, and Kevin Spacey will serve as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies.
On Thursday, November 20, Kool & the Gang will be on hand for Billboard’s 11th annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards in New York City. The group will be featured as the closing performance of the Awards that evening, and featured at the conference as a case study entitled “Spirit of the Boogie – How to Build a 50 Year Touring Career featuring Kool & the Gang” for influential industry professional attendees.
Billboard will further honor the legendary group in a commemorative print issue dated November 22.
The band is also gearing up for the holidays with their holiday album Kool For The Holidays, which is out now. The record features 14 classic Christmas songs such as “Little Drummer Boy,” “Joy To The World” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – all with the group’s signature soul and funk sound.
The celebration of 50 years will continue well into 2015 as Kool & the Gang is set to be inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Further details of their star ceremony will be announced soon.
