Kool & The Gang brings the boogie

Kool & The Gang brings the boogie

YOUNGSTOWN — Ronald Bell stepped to the mike.

“This is Y-Town!” he roared. “I was born in this town ... St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in da house ... Y’all ready to turn this Y-Town upside down?”

With that, Kool & The Gang tore into “Hollywood Swinging” and “Jungle Boogie,” with Ronald’s brother, Robert “Kool” Bell, stepping up to lay down the bass line.

The Bell brothers were born in Youngstown, and even though they lived here only for about a decade, Friday night’s concert at Chevrolet Centre was like a homecoming, with between 2,000 and 3,000 fans showing the supergroup plenty of love.

Clad in white, the 11-piece R&B group reeled off a string of hits from the ’70s and ’80s, including “Fresh,” “Joanna” and “Too Hot.”

For the complete story, see today’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.