Ronnie Wilson, a founding member of the legendary Oklahoma funk and R&B band, the Gap Band, has passed yesterday at the age of 73.
Linda Boulware-Wilson, the musician’s wife, confirmed the news to TMZ, saying Wilson died peacefully at his home Tuesday in Tulsa at 10:01 a.m.
Wilson’s widow claims her late husband had a stroke last week, putting him in a semi-coma from which he never awoke. Over the years, he was said to have had a number of strokes.
“a genius with creating, producing, and playing the flugelhorn, trumpet, keyboards, and singing music, from childhood to his early seventies,” Linda said on Facebook.
The funk pioneering polyglot was born in Tulsa and formed the Gap Band with his brothers Charlie and Robert in the late 1960s. According to Pitchfork, the band’s name is an abbreviation for Greenwood, Archer, and Pine, three streets in a black area of Tulsa that were ransacked by a White mob during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.
The sibling R&B group rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, opening for renowned bands such as The Rolling Stones and providing support to artists such as Willie Nelson and Leon Russell.
The Gap Band wrote the famous hits “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” “Party Train,” and “Outstanding” at that time. According to the band’s website, the latter has been sampled 150 times by singers such as Madonna, Tina Turner, Will Smith, Usher, George Michael, and even Laker’s Center Shaquille O’Neal.
Wilson has produced a number of works, including Goodie’s 1982 album “Call Me Goodie,” in addition to playing in the Gap Band.
Robert, one of his brothers, died in 2010 at the age of 53.
