George Brown, drummer and co-founder of Kool & The Gang, dies at 74

(From left) George Brown, Ronald Bell, Dennis Thomas and Robert "Kool" Bell, of Kool and the Gang, appear at the 2014 Soul Train Awards in Las Vegas on Nov. 7, 2014. Brown died Nov. 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, after a battle with cancer. He was 74. — Photo: AP

George "Funky” Brown, the co-founder and longtime drummer of Kool & The Gang who helped write such hits as "Too Hot, Ladies Night, Joanna and the party favorite Celebration, died Thursday in Los Angeles at age 74.

Brown died after a battle with cancer, according to a statement released by Universal Music. He had retired earlier in the year, nearly 60 years after the band began, and revealed that he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.