Robert Wilson, 1/3 of the Wilson brothers who made up legendary R&B/funk group The Gap Band, has died of a massive heart attack in his Palmdale, California home. He was 53. Wilson was known as the "Godfather of Bass Guitar" for his unique, funky style of playing.
Though never given just due by music critics, for the better part of a decade the Gap Band created some great music that has increased in stature over time and has influenced a new generation of artists who have liberally borrowed from the Gap sound in creating modern soul and hip-hop albums.
Formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 70s by brothers Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, the Gap Band largely mimicked musical pioneers George Clinton, Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire before developing their own distinctive sound in the early 80s that propelled them to the forefront of soul and funk music. Named as an acronym for three streets in Tulsa, the Gap Band spent most of the 70s as backing musicians or as the warm-up act for visiting artists ranging from the Rolling Stones to Willie Nelson. READ MORE…
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