CELEBRATE THE GOOD TIMES

Kool & The Gang Legend Dies Aged 71 in Car Crash

Michael Sumler, aka Chicago Mike, had worked with the group since 1985.

Kool & the Gang hype-man, stylist and choreographer Michael Sumler, aka “Chicago Mike,” has died aged 71 following a car crash just outside Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday night. The music industry veteran, who also acted as a backing vocalist for the legendary funk, soul and R&B band, was behind the wheel of a car when it collided with another vehicle near Buckner Road. “It was a devastating blow,” Sumler’s friend Adrian Meeks told Fox 5 Atlanta. “It’s like no, no, no, not Mike.” Sumler first joined Kool in 1985 and remained active in the music scene his whole life, continuing to mentor young musicians to this day. “He always wanted to see other people succeed in the business that he’d been around most of all of his life,” Meeks added. “He was the bridge, you know, for inspiring artists and songwriters and producers and musicians to the legends.” Greg Williams of Switch Entertainment said Sumler 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.” A memorial for Sumler is being planned by friends and family.