Kool & The Gang’s Michael Sumler has reportedly died at age 71 after getting into a car crash over the weekend. 

Michael Sumler passed away in Cobb County, Georgia following a car accident where the vehicle he was driving collided with another car. The incident happened just before midnight on Veterans Memorial Highway, near Buckner Road. According to Fox 5 news, the crash took Sumler’s life.

The legendary musician reportedly died at the scene. 

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Kool & The Gang for comment.  

The mayor of Mableton, Michael Owens, praised Sumler – who is also known as ‘Chicago Miker’ – in a statement released following his death.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of musician Michael Sumler, also known as ‘Chicago Mike.’ His contributions to the music and entertainment industries were significant. For decades, his unique style and vibrant energy brought excitement to Kool and the Gang,” expressed a spokesperson. The city of Mableton, along with council members, extended their sympathies to Sumler’s family, friends, and fans, grieving his passing.

Kool & The Gang’s Michael Sumler has reportedly died at age 71 after getting into a car crash over the weekend

Kool & The Gang was established in 1964 in Jersey City, New Jersey. By 1969, they released their first self-titled album. A photo from 1983 depicts the band before Sumler became a member, showcasing the group’s early years.

Kool & The Gang formed in 1964 in Jersey City, New Jersey and by 1969 had their self-titled first album.

Some of their top songs were Ladies Night, Too Hot, Jungle Boogie, Celebration and Cherish. 

A longtime member of the band, Sumler joined Kool & The Gang in 1985 after getting introduced by a member of the group’s security team. 

‘I had a local band out of Chicago called Power Pac,’ he told the Kelly Talk Show in 2018. ‘One of the Kool and the Gang security guys caught our act in the club in Chicago and we became friends, and he decided… he said, “Hey, you’d like to meet my group?” And I said “Sure.”‘

Sumler then travelled to Minneapolis to meet with the band at Prince’s soundstage before joining the group as a stylist choreographer.  

‘I started out as a stylist choreographer, because he introduced me as that. But once they saw that I could do some other things, they said, we need to have you on stage,’ he said. 

His role with the band evolved from opening for the group by dancing to Kool & The Gang music with a boombox on his shoulder before he joined on doing background singing. 

‘So I started off doing moves on the stage, and so that was the opening for the band. And then they said, “Well we need you a little more.” So I started coming on doing background singing and just working the whole show… just creating even more moves for the band,’ he explained.  

Kool & The Gang pictured in 1972, before Sumler joined

 A longtime member of the band, Sumler joined Kool & The Gang in 1985 after getting introduced by a member of the group’s security team

The group was founded by brothers Robert Bell (bass) and Ronald Bell (keyboards), Dennis Thomas (saxophone), Robert Mickens (Trumpet), Ricky West (keyboards), George Brown (drummer), and Charles Smith (guitarist).

Robert ‘Kool’ Bell is the only surviving founding member of the band left.

Kool & the Gang have won numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and, in 2006, a Music Business Association Chairman’s Award for artistic achievement. 

In 2013 the group released a Christmas album Kool for the Holidays. This was the group’s 24th studio album.

In 2015, the group received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.