Mike Sumler, hype man of the Grammy Award-winning group Kool & the Gang, has died. He was 71.
Sumler died in a car crash during Memorial Day weekend, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The R&B group confirmed his death in a Wednesday post on X.
“We’re deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our longtime wardrobe valet, Mike Sumler,” Kool & the Gang wrote. “Mike worked alongside Kool & the Gang from 2000-2015, making sure the guys looked their best on stage every night. He also hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves at the.”
Sumler first crossed paths with the group in 1985 when he was performing with his own band, Power Pac. He looked back on the experience of meeting Kool & the Gang in a 2018 interview with Kelly Talk Show when he said that “One of the Kool & the Gang security guys caught our act in the club in Chicago and we became friends.”
He continued to travel with the group as their stylist-choreographer, but “once they saw that I could do some other things, they said we need to have you onstage.” That’s when Sumler joined the “Get Down on It” hitmakers as their hype man; he went on to provide background vocals for their music.
Kool & the Gang has earned three Grammy nominations and one win in 1979 for album of the year for their work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015 and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year.
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