Michael Sumler of Kool & the Gang died in a car crash near Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday. The 71-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before midnight on Veterans Memorial Highway, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
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“It was a devastating blow,” Adrian Meeks of Song Source Music Group told the local station. “It’s like, no, no, not Mike. He always wanted to see other people succeed in the business that he’d been around most of all of his life. He was the bridge, you know, for inspiring artists and songwriters and producers and musicians to the legends […] He’ll be dearly missed.”
Meeks added that “Chicago Mike” was “always jovial, always just kind, always wanting to make sure everybody else around him was good.”
Michael Sumler, a longtime member of Kool & the Gang, has died in a car crash at 72 years old 🙏 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/K8GWMXVAMm
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) May 28, 2025
Kool & the Gang was founded in New Jersey in 1964. Known for party classics like “Ladies’ Night,” “Get Down on It,” “Celebration,” and “Jungle Boogie,” they became a defining force in music history.
Michael Sumler Joined Kool & the Gang in 1985
Per VIBE, Sumler joined the group in 1985, starting as a stylist and choreographer. He later took on additional roles, including opening shows, energizing the audience, connecting with fans, and providing backing vocals.
The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015.
They have released 23 studio albums. Founding member Robert “Kool” Bell still leads Kool & The Gang, performing and touring with a group of newer musicians.
Meanwhile, admirers of Sumler are paying tribute in the wake of his death.
“He was the hype guy out of the group, getting the audience going,” Greg Williams of Switch Entertainment told Fox 5 of Sumler.
Williams added that the veteran performer was “one of these people God put on a planet to teach people how to act because he was kind, he was thoughtful, he was intelligent, he was articulate, and he was the life of the party.”
“This one hits hard, “Darren Leslie, a long-time friend of Sumler’s, wrote on Facebook. “I really appreciate all the calls. But yall, I can’t even talk right now. Those of you who knew, you knew, this was my POTNAH!!!!!!!! So no, I am not alright.”