Robert Wilson, American musician (The Gap Band), died from a heart attack , 53,

The Gap Band is an American funk band, who rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. Comprising brothers Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson died from a heart attack , 53,, the band first formed as the Greenwood, Archer and Pine Street Band in 1967 in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The group shortened its name to The Gap Band in 1973.

History

Early years

Growing up with a Pentecostal minister father, the Wilson brothers formed the Greenwood, Archer, and Pine Street Band in 1967, with Tuck Andress (later of Tuck and Patti).
Early on, the group took on a funk sound more reminiscent of the early 70s^[1]. This style failed to catch on, and their first two LP's, 1974's Magician's Holiday and 1977's The Gap Band (Not to be confused with their 1979 album) failed to chart or produce any charting singles. However, they were introduced to LA producer Lonnie Simmons, who signed them to his record label, Total Experience Records^[2]. Simmons had recently gotten a distribution deal with Mercury/Polygram.

Success

When Lonnie signed them, the group had twelve musicians, including drummer Ronnie Smith. The group dropped most of their personnel. Raymond Calhoun (writer "Outstanding"), Oliver Scott (co-writer "Yearning For Your Love), and arranger/producer Malvin Dino Vice (co-writer "Boys Are Back in Town") were retained as members of the backing band and major contributors to the Gap Band's later recordings. On their first Simmons-produced album, The Gap Band, they found chart success with songs such as "I'm in Love" and "Shake", the latter becoming a Top 10 R&B hit in 1979.

Later that year, the group released "I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)" on their album The Gap Band II. Although it did not hit the Hot 100, it soared to #4 R&B. The song, and the band's musical output as a whole, became more P-Funk-esque^[3], with expanded use of the synthesizers and spoken monologues within songs (see audio sample). The song "Steppin' (Out)" also reached the top 10 R&B. The album went gold.^[4]

The band reached a whole new level of fame in 1980 with the release of the #1 R&B and #16 Billboard 200 The Gap Band III. The band adopted a formula of quiet-storm ballads (such as the #5 R&B song "Yearning for Your Love" and "Are You Living") supported by anthemic funk songs (such as the R&B chart-topper Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) and "Humpin'"). They repeated this formula on the #1 R&B album Gap Band IV in 1982, which resulted in three hit singles: "Early in the Morning" (#1 R&B, #13 Dance, #24 Hot 100), "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" (#2 R&B, #31 Hot 100, #39 Dance), and "Outstanding" (#1 R&B, #24 Dance). It was during this time that former Brides of Funkenstein singer Dawn Silva joined them on tour.^[5]
Their 1983 effort, Gap Band V: Jammin', went gold, but not quite as successful as the previous works, peaking at #2 R&B and #28 on the Billboard 200. The single "Party Train" peaked at #3 R&B and the song "Jam the Motha'" peaked at #16 R&B, but neither made it onto the Hot 100. The album's closer "Someday" (A loose cover of Donny Hathaway's Someday We'll All Be Free) featured Stevie Wonder as a guest vocalist.^[6]
Their next work, Gap Band VI brought them back to #1 R&B in 1985, but the album sold fewer copies, and did not go gold. "Beep a Freak" hit #2 R&B and "I Found My Baby" peaked at #8 on the R&B charts, and "Disrespect" peaked at #18. That year, lead singer Charlie Wilson provided backing vocals on Zapp & Roger's #8 R&B "Computer Love".

Later years

While their 1986 cover of "Going in Circles" went to #2 on the R&B charts, and the album it was released on, Gap Band VII hit #6 R&B, the album almost became their first in years to miss the Billboard 100, peaking at a mere #159.
Although they were beginning to struggle stateside, the group found their greatest success in the UK when their 1987 single "Big Fun" from Gap Band 8 reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart^[7]. 1988's Straight from the Heart was their last studio album with Total Experience.
The Gap Band caught a small break in 1988 with the Keenan Ivory Wayans film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. They contributed the non-charting "You're So Cute" and the #14 R&B title track to the film (The first was not on the soundtrack, but was used in the film).^[8] Their first song on their new label, Capitol Records, 1989's "All of My Love" (From Round Trip), is, to date, their last #1 R&B hit. The album also produced the #8 R&B "Addicted to Your Love" and the #18 R&B ""We Can Make It Alright" They left Capitol records the next year went on a five year hiatus from producing new material.

During the 1990s, the band released 3 non-charting studio albums and 2 live albums. The only album to chart was the live album Live & Well, which peaked at #54 R&B in 1996.

Legacy

In 1992, Charlie ventured into a solo career and had several minor hits on his own. Wilson's vocals were credited in part for establishing the careers of Guy, Aaron Hall, Keith Sweat, and R. Kelly. The band reunited in 1996, and issued The Gap Band: Live and Well, a live greatest hits album.
Robert Wilson died of a heart attack at his home in Palmdale, California on August 15, 2010.^[9]

Sampling

Since the 1990s, many The Gap Band hits have been sampled and covered by R&B and Hip-Hop artists such as Nas, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, Notorious B.I.G., II D Extreme, Blackstreet, Shaquille O'Neal, Mia X, and Mary J. Blige^[10]. "Outstanding" was sampled for a 1990s commercial for malt liquor. Musicians inspired by The Gap Band include R. Kelly, Keith Sweat, Ruff Endz, Guy, Blackstreet, II D Extreme, Mint Condition, Jagged Edge, D'Extra Wiley, and Aaron Hall.
"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" was featured in the hit 2004 videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on the fictional funk radio station Bounce FM.

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