The Gap Band Artistfacts

1967-2000
Ronnie WilsonPiano, horns
Robert WilsonBass, guitar
Charles WilsonLead vocals, keyboards
The group was comprised of three brothers: Ronnie, Charles and Robert Wilson. Ronnie, the oldest, started the band with other members in the late '60s in a lineup that had about 10 members at any given time. When his brothers were old enough, they joined him and Ronnie parted ways with the other members, paring the group down to a trio.
They were originally called the Greenwood-Archer-Pine Band, named after three streets in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma that were an epicenter of Black business. They shortened the name to The G.A.P. Band for promotional purposes, and eventually simplified it further to become The Gap Band. Charles Wilson said it could also mean "God's Anointed People."
The Gap Band was one of the top funk bands of the early '80s, but they first made waves when Leon Russell, also from Tulsa, brought them on as his backing band in the early '70s. They released their first album, Magicians Holiday, on Russell's Shelter Records, but it went nowhere. A few years later they signed a deal with the producer Lonnie Simmons, who put them on his Total Experience label. Simmons became a key songwriter in the group as well as their producer, and it was with him that they had their biggest hits, including "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" and "Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)."
They had a very distinctive look that we'll describe as "funky cowboy," with tassels and bedazzled boots and hats. Their producer, Lonnie Simmons, came up with the look, basing it on a look he had developed for a singer named D.J. Rogers. The Gap Band didn't grow up roping doggies (they were always focused on music), but they were from Tulsa, where cowboys could be found.
Charles Wilson branched out to work with Eurythmics, touring with the duo and co-writing two songs on their 1989 album We Too Are One: "Revival" and "Precious." He also worked with Dave Stewart of the group on the soundtrack to the movie Rooftops, also from 1989.
The band landed the last of their four #1 R&B hits in 1989 with "All Of My Love." They continued performing into the '00s, but the band ended when Robert Wilson died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2010 at 53. Ronnie Wilson died in 2021 at 73 after suffering a stroke.

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