Ronnie Wilson Biography – Ronnie Wilson Wiki
Ronnie Wilson was a multi-instrumentalist and the founding member of the R&B group The Gap Band. He co-founded The Gap Band in the early 1970s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his brothers Charlie and Robert Wilson. The name of the band was inspired by three streets in their hometown — Greenwood, Archer, and Pine — that had defined the “Black Wall Street” district destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
As time went by, he would develop into an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, contributing keyboards, horns, and percussion in addition to vocals on several of the band’s albums. The Gap Band released its debut album, Magicians Holiday, in 1974. But it was in the 1980s that the group’s distinctive electro-funk style would come to define the era’s increasingly synth-heavy R&B sound. The band produced a number of hit songs, including “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” “Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)” and “Outstanding.”
The genre-melding sound of The Gap Band has continued to inspire countless artists in the generations that came after. In addition to its songs being sampled or covered by artists including Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, and Ashanti, the group earned songwriting credits in 2015 on the Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars smash “Uptown Funk” after noting similarities between the song and its own “Oops Upside Your Head.”
The band continued to write and perform after its ’80s breakthrough, and Charlie Wilson embarked on a solo career in the 1990s. In 2010, Robert Wilson, the band’s bassist, died of a heart attack at 53. In his later years, Ronnie Wilson was involved in the music ministry of San Antonio’s Community Bible Church, turning to religion after a long career in music. Speaking to the publication My San Antonio in 2011, the church’s minister of music and worship Ray-Jones said, “They love to hear Ronnie sing.” Lead vocalist Charlie Wilson, 68, is the last surviving member of The Gap Band.
Ronnie Wilson Age
He was 73 years old at the time of his death in November 2021.
Ronnie Wilson Wife
Until his death, he was married to his wife, Linda Boulware-Wilson.
Ronnie Wilson Family
He was brought up by a music teacher mother and a preacher father. Together with his brothers, they grew up with a love of music, his brothers are Charlie and the late Robert Wilson. Robert died of a heart attack at 53 in 2010.
Ronnie Wilson Death
The announcement of his death was made public on November 2, 2021. He was 73 years old. “The love of my life was called home this morning,” Wilson’s wife, Linda Boulware-Wilson, wrote in a November, 2 Facebook post confirming his death. “Ronnie Wilson was a genius with creating, producing, and playing the flugelhorn, trumpet, keyboards, and singing music, from childhood to his early seventies.”
The Gap Band’s manager Michael Paran confirmed Wilson’s death to USA TODAY on Wednesday, November 3, 2021. His death was first shared on Facebook by Wilson’s wife, who remembered the musician as a “genius.”
Ronnie Wilson Cause of Death
The cause of his death has not been stated yet.
