They called him Funky. George Brown started Kool & The Gang in 1964 Jersey City with brothers Ronald and Robert “Kool” Bell and neighborhood friends Spike Mickens, Dee Tee Thomas, Ricky Westfield and Charles Smith, as a jazz-pop-funk-soul collective. By the time of their 1969 self-titled debut album, they were opening shows for Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby. Brown passed away November 16 in Los Angeles at the age of 74.

It’s amazing to think that Kool & The Gang started in Jersey City 59 years ago as The Jazziacs. The two co-founding members—bassist Robert “Kool” Bell and drummer/keyboardist George “Funky” Brown—are still at it with some new young lions in the band.