By Craig Horleman

DOVER — After more than 50 years, the celebration goes on for Kool & the Gang.

Officially launched in 1969 and after performing for five years under various band titles, the group has lived on with iconic songs such as “Cherish,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Summer Madness,” “Ladies Night” and, yes, that staple of all wedding receptions, “Celebration.”

The group has earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top 10 R&B hits, nine Top 10 Pop hits and 31 gold and platinum albums.

And on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m., Kool & the Gang brings its brand of high-spirited funk and soul to Dover Downs’ Rollins Center.

After taking a forced year off due to the pandemic, the band is back on the road, and co-founder and bassist Robert “Kool” Bell couldn’t be happier. He and his bandmates opened the Hollywood Bowl summer series July 4, then did five shows in Europe.

“Each country had their own rules, but we did Helsinki, Finland. We played for a jazz festival in the south of France. We did another jazz festival in Majorca, over in Spain. We did a rock festival in Belgium,” Mr. Bell said from his home in Florida last month.

“We were supposed to do England. But they wanted us to come in and then quarantine for two weeks. But we weren’t going to stay there for two weeks. So we passed on that one.”

It’s been a bittersweet year for Mr. Bell, 71, and his gang. Their first album in more than a decade, called “Perfect Union,” was released, as well as its lead single, “Pursuit of Happiness.” In addition, “Celebration” was entered into the National Recording Registry for the Library of Congress.

This year also marked the death of Kool & the Gang co-founder Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas. His last show with the band was that July 4 date. The death followed the passing of Mr. Bell’s brother and band co-founder, Ronald Bell, in September 2020.

Mr. Bell said the album was the final project his brother worked on. And it has ties to a Delaware original.

“When President Joe Biden accepted the nomination, they played ‘Celebration.’ And then, during his speech, he spoke about the pursuit of happiness and a perfect union from the Constitution,” he said.

“And then, when President Biden won, ‘Celebration’ was the most played song around the world. So that kind of like inspired (Ronald) and, of course, he passed after that. So I’m dedicating this album to him. We have other writers on it, but he was the curator.”

Mr. Bell is gratified by the Library of Congress honor and the lasting legacy of “Celebration.” He said the song came as sort of a sequel to Kool & the Gang’s previous hit, “Ladies Night.”

“We were out in (Los Angeles) for the American Music Awards, and we had won two awards for ‘Ladies Night.’ And the vamp for that is, ‘This is your night. Come on, let’s all celebrate.’ So my brother said that would be a great title, for sure,” he explained.

“We went back to New Jersey to the studio to work on the next record. He had this track that he came up with. It had sort of like a down-home vibe to it. It reminded you of being down somewhere — Birmingham, Alabama, maybe — sitting on the porch in a little country town with a little lemonade.

“You know, Grandma, Grandpa in the rocking chair. And then, we got that ‘yahoo.’ It’s a very simple record. It is not a very complicated record, but the world grasped it, and it is still popular today.”

He credits the band’s former lead singer, James “J.T.” Taylor, for much of the song’s popularity.

“I think the timing of our song was at the right time, right after ‘Ladies Night.’ And it was right at the time when we got a lead singer. We didn’t have a lead singer for many years. J.T. joined the band in 1978, and the song came out in 1979,” Mr. Bell said.

While he and the band have been surprised by the success of that song years later, there’s one tune that had astonishing immediate success, the 1974 instrumental hit, “Summer Madness.”

“That was on the B side of a song called ‘Spirit of the Boogie.’ A DJ in Chicago flipped it to the B side, and he played the record. And then, he asked his audience, ‘Who do you think this is?’ And people were calling up and saying Herbie Hancock, Donald Byrd. He said, ‘It’s Kool & the Gang,’ and it became a big hit,” Mr. Bell said.

The song went on to appear on the Grammy-winning “Rocky” movie soundtrack, and it has become one of the most sampled R&B songs of all time.

Another highlight of Kool & the Gang’s career was an improbable 48-show tour in 2012 with the rock group Van Halen. It was a match that took some getting used to at first, Mr. Bell recalled.

“We were playing the Glastonbury Festival in London, and David Lee Roth happened to be in London at the time, and he saw us on TV. He called up Alex and Eddie Van Halen and said, ‘I got the perfect group to open up for us.’ He was coming back for a celebration of 20 years,” Mr. Bell said.

“He said, ‘Kool & the Gang.’ The guys said, ‘What have you been smoking over there in London?’ The story, as it was told to me, had him saying ‘It’s perfect. When we had ‘Jump,’ they had ‘Celebration.’”

And while the pairing did have Van Halen fans scratching their heads, Mr. Bell said it proved to be a hit from the first night.

“We opened the show with some rock-type songs, ‘Emergency’ and ‘Misled.’ But then, we closed the show with ‘Ladies Night,’ ‘Get Down on It’ and ‘Celebration.’ And all the women in the crowd jumped up and started partying. They turned around to the guys they were with and said, ‘This is my song. You better get your butt up and get down on it and celebrate.’ We had the house from then on. David knew what was going to happen, and it did,” Mr. Bell said.

With the two recent deaths in the band, that leaves Mr. Bell and drummer George “Funky” Brown as the two lone original members. But Kool & the Gang remains steadfast in its efforts to entertain music fans all over the world.

“Back when we started in 1964, my parents always told us to stick together and stay together as a family. And we were able to do that throughout all the years,” Mr. Bell said.

“We’re still driving, and then, not having had an album for 10 years, that’s kind of refreshing to have some new music out there. We’re working on a musical called ‘Celebration.’ We’re working on a movie at some point. So we’re still keeping busy.”

Tickets for the Nov. 13 show in Dover, which range from $75 to $150, can be purchased here. For more information, visit here.