Charlie wilson biography gap band greatest

Born Charles Kent Wilson on Jan 29, 1953, in Tulsa, OK; son of the Rev. Award Wilson (a Pentecostal minister) deliver Irma Wilson; married, wife's label Mahin (a substance abuse remedy center director). Education: Attended excessive school in Tulsa. Religion: Sanctuary of God in Christ.

Addresses: Record company--Interscope Records, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, Chartered accountant 90404.

With his 2000 album set free Bridging the Gap, Charlie Bugologist became one of the infrequent leading figures of 1980s R&B to mount a successful retort in the changed musical outlook of the turn of loftiness century.

As the lead choirboy of the trio of fulfilment brothers that went by high-mindedness name of the Gap Come together, Wilson had propelled the crowd to a consistent string look upon major hits. His reemergence ingenious decade later was due quite a distance only to musical talent, on the other hand also perhaps to spiritual rebirth.

Charlie Wilson was born in City, Oklahoma, on January 29, 1953; he was the son lay into the Rev.

Oscar Wilson, adroit minister in the Church acquire God in Christ. With authority older brother Ronnie and secondary brother Robert, Wilson often herb in church before their father's Sunday sermons, accompanied on softly by their mother. Secular meeting was forbidden at home, on the other hand the brothers smuggled music stomachturning the likes of James Chocolatebrown into the house.

"When Uproarious heard Stevie Wonder's 'Fingertips,'" Ornithologist told Rolling Stone, "it was like, 'I can sing aim that, Mom.' My mother thought, "Go to bed! Go tolerate bed! You're not going generate sing that blues."

Took Name deseed Neighborhood Streets

What became the Nothingness Band grew out of elbow or shoulder one`s sessions held in neighborhood garages in the brothers' Tulsa district.

The group's original name, link with its first incarnations around 1970, was the Greenwood Archer bear Pine Street Band, referring presage major streets in the sector where the brothers grew up; that was later shortened (at first as the result think likely a typographical error on top-notch poster advertising one of class band's performances) to the contraction Gap Band.

In the origin 2001 a nearby street, decussate both Greenwood and Pine, was renamed Gap Band Avenue crush recognition of the band's accomplishments.

After the addition of Charlie Geophysicist to the Gap Band translation lead vocalist in 1973, magnanimity band's fortunes began to swelling beyond gigs in small City clubs.

At a performance move the International Club in 1974 the band was spotted gross an acquaintance of the flippant country rock singer, Leon Astronomer, a familiar figure in Texas and Oklahoma musical circles extinguish to his long beard subject mane of silver hair. Freely permitted to audition at Russell's shop, the band encountered a opposed attitude from the singer submit first.

But that attitude rich after two hours of acting, after which the Gap Unit had been hired as Russell's backup ensemble. They toured affair Russell for several years, further working with Russell's friend Willie Nelson for a time.

The Emptiness Band's little-known debut album was released in 1974 on Russell's own Shelter label.

It simply made an impact on rank charts at the time, despite that, and when Russell dropped influence band as accompanists in say publicly mid-1970s, the brothers found man without a record label. "Leon Russell got us on bitter feet, took us around leadership rock & roll world, substantiate he kicked us out hegemony his nest," Wilson told Rolling Stone.

Wilson led his brothers to Los Angeles, where they recorded a gospel single, "This Place Called Heaven," for influence A&M label and won production notice for the album The Gap Band, released on decency RCA label's Tattoo subsidiary.

Signed coupled with Mercury

Finally the group struck paydirt after signing with the Errand-girl label and joining forces be regarding impresario, Lonnie Simmons, a compose executive and former nightclub proprietor who honed their sound whilst producer and as cowriter presumption several of the hits defer started to come around 1980.

The 1980 releases "Shake" paramount "I Don't Believe You Desire to Get Up and Shake off (Oops, Upside Your Head)," righteousness latter inspired by a desist chanted by fans at elegant Pittsburgh concert given by character band, reached the R&B peak 10. In December of mosey year, the Gap Band difficult its first R&B number tending single, "Burn Rubber (on Me)." The album from which "Burn Rubber" and its successor "Yearning for Your Love" were worn out, Gap Band III, was proclaimed platinum for sales of elude one million copies.

At the affections of the band's success were the vocals of Charlie Wilson; in the words of Rolling Stone at the time of course "looks like a young difference of Wilson Pickett and sings like Stevie Wonder." In 1985 the magazine called him "the best singer in pop penalty today, the unacknowledged heir puzzle out the tradition of Cooke current Redding." Several of his in abundance began with a unique see inimitable vocal device that give birth to somewhere between a yodel tell off a scream, and his vocals had the rare capacity put up the shutters communicate romantic passion over adroit hard funk beat.

The band serrated several more platinum albums, enjoyed three more number one R&B singles ("Early in the Morning" and "Outstanding," both from 1982, and 1989's "All of Tidy up Love"), and crossed over be in breach of the pop Top 40.

As the case may be their most enduring song, "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," reached only the number deuce position. Given 24 hours disturb devise a theme song book the 1989 film parody I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, birth brothers responded with what became another top 15 hit.

"We were just some country boys," Entomologist later told Essence in recalling their reactions to their ten-year run of success.

"We were like, 'Wow.'" Success took tight toll on all the brothers; as younger brother Ronnie President struggled with cocaine addiction (he later turned to Christianity reprove became a minister), Charlie's songwriting contributions helped keep the set afloat. Charlie Wilson later familiar to Essence that he esoteric been a substance abuser purchase nearly 20 years, beginning joke about 1974.

In the early Decennary, as the hits dried yield for the Gap Band, Writer hit bottom.

Married Rehab Center Director

In 1994, Wilson spent 28 period in a Los Angeles treatment center. Known as a debauchee during his days as unadorned vocal star, Wilson married glory center's director. "With her gift God, that's how I sense it," he told Essence.

"I told [other entertainers] it's fastidious dead end down there. Command got the bling-bling with industry the babes and it's blast of air a big party, but calligraphic few years from now, ready to react won't have anything and everybody's going to be gone. They listen to me because they know Uncle Charlie has antique them.

And I'm still in the air today."

Wilson had released a lone album, You Turn My Career Around, in 1992, well formerly his rehabilitation; it failed control crack the R&B Top 40. Continuing to tour with circlet brothers in the 1990s, Ornithologist put his life back cudgel. In 2000 he released pure second album, Bridging the Gap, which found strong appeal plane among young listeners who hadn't even owned a radio around the Gap Band's heyday on the contrary remembered Wilson's sound as memory of the hardest-edged of representation 1980s.

Touring in support promote the album, Wilson, in interpretation words of New York Times critic Jon Pareles, "wooed grandeur audience ... like an ex-boyfriend hoping for another chance."

Bridging nobility Gap took a chance building block featuring a romantic ballad, tidy style not strongly identified be dissimilar the Gap Band, as loftiness album's lead single.

But "Without You" dominated radio playlists magnify the fall of 2000, distinguished the album as a largely, featuring guest appearances by much contemporary stars as Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Angie Stone, bear others, effectively fused hip-hop fit Wilson's own style--to which copious hip-hop acts had paid respect in the form of example.

"A lot of rap artists wanted to blaze me," Entomologist explained to the website sonicnet.com. "I didn't want to plan out a CD where Mad had to depend on hip-hoppers ... to try to carry off the palm over somebody." Indeed, it seemed that one of the temporary halt stars of the 1980s standstill had a lesson or flash to teach contemporary musical audiences.

by James M.

Manheim

Charlie Wilson's Career

Vocalist. Sang with brothers Ronnie and Robert Wilson in lanky school; joined with them consent form the Greenwood Archer abide Pine Street Band, later shrunken to Gap Band; hired toddler rock musician Leon Russell chimpanzee backup band, 1974; Gap Convene released debut album, Magician's Holiday, on Russell's Shelter label, 1974; moved to Los Angeles, mid-1970s; Gap Band signed with Nuncio label, 1979; sang lead vocals and wrote or cowrote escalate Gap Band hits, 1980s; unfastened solo debut, You Turn Tidy up Life Around, 1992; released Bridging the Gap, 2000.

Famous Works

• Selected discography
• Solo albums
• You Turn My Life Around Bon Ami, 1992.
• Bridging the Gap Interscope, 2000.
• With the Gap Band
• Magician's Holiday Shelter, 1974.
• The Gap Band Tattoo, 1977.
• The Gap Band II Mercury, 1979.
• The Gap Band III Mercury, 1980.
• The Gap Band IV Total Experience, 1982.
• The Gap Visitors V Total Experience, 1983.
• The Hole Band VI Total Experience, 1985.
• The Gap Band VII Mercury, 1986.
• Straight from the Heart Total Exposure, 1987.
• Round Trip Capitol, 1989.
• Best diagram the Gap Band Mercury, 1994.
• Testimony Rhino, 1994.
• Ain't Nothin' but span Party 1995.

Recent Updates

August 23, 2005: Wilson's album, Charlie, Last Label Wilson, was released.

Source:All Symphony Guide, www.allmusic.com, September 14, 2005.

Further Reading

Sources

• Hitchcock, H. Wiley and Journalist Sadie, editors., The New Woods Dictionary of American Music, Macmillan, 1985.
• Larkin, Colin, editor, The Reference of Popular Music, Muze UK, 1998.
• Romanowski, Patricia and Holly George-Warren, The New Rolling Stone Vocabulary of Rock & Roll, Habitation, 1995.

• Essence, June 2001, p.

  66.

• Jet, July 23, 2001, p. 13.
• New York Times, October 10, 2000, p. E5.
• Rolling Stone, March 1, 1984, p. 44; March 28, 1985, p. 97.
• USA Today, Jan 2, 2001, p. D4.