George Brown, Drummer and Co-founder of Kool & the Gang, Dead at 74

George Brown, Drummer and Co-founder of Kool & the Gang, Dead at 74
(L–R) 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.Omar Vega/Invision/AP
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NEW YORK—George “Funky” Brown, co-founder and longtime drummer of Kool & The Gang, died Thursday in Los Angeles at age 74.

Mr. 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.