Brown passed away at his home Thursday of complications from lung cancer, according to a statement from the record label Universal which Rolling Stone took part in.
Even as a teenager, he was involved when Kool & The Gang was formed by a group of jazz-loving schoolmates in New Jersey in 1964. Five years later, after swapping jazz for funk and r’n’b, they released their self-titled debut album.
The group had some success in the following years, but they were at their greatest in the break between the 1970s and 1980s. Brown then co-wrote several of the band’s biggest hits: “Celebration”, “Get down on it”, “Jungle boogie” and “Ladies night”.
Brown was a constant in the band, playing drums and percussion until August of this year.