The Gap Band
The Gap Band in 1983
Background information
Origin	Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Genres	Electro-funk, electro, funk, R&B, soul, quiet storm
Instruments	Guitar, Synthesizer, Drums, Horns
Years active	1967–2010
Labels	Shelter Records Tattoo/RCA Mercury Total Experience Capitol
Associated acts	Charlie Wilson Dawn Silva P-Funk
Website	www.gapband.com
Members
Charlie Wilson Ronnie Wilson
Past members
Ronnie Smith Raymond Calhoun Robert Wilson (deceased)

The Gap Band was an American funk band, who rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. Comprising brothers Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, 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. After 43 years together, they retired in 2010.

History[link]

Early years[link]

Growing up with a Pentecostal minister father, Ronnie Wilson formed the Greenwood, Archer, and Pine Street Band in 1967, with Tuck Andress (later of Tuck and Patti), Roscoe "Toast" Smith and Chris Clayton. In 1972, Ronnie's younger brother Charlie joined the band, and their younger brother Robert became the band's bassist in 1973. Eventually the band would be condensed to comprise the trio of Ronnie, Robert and Charlie Wilson.

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[link]

When Lonnie signed them, the group had twelve musicians. The group dropped most of their personnel. Raymond Calhoun (writer of "Outstanding"), Oliver Scott (co-writer of "Yearning For Your Love), and arranger/producer Malvin Dino Vice (co-writer of "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.

In 1980 Charlie and Ronnie provided background vocals on Stevie Wonder's 1980 hit "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It" from Wonder's album Hotter Than July (1980).

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]

	"I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops)" (1979) noicon The Gap Band's breathrough single, "I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)" exemplifies the sound that made them famous.
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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 #2 R&B "Computer Love".

Later years[link]

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 their album 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 and went on a five year hiatus from producing new material.

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

Legacy[link]

In 1992, Charlie ventured into a solo career and has had several moderate R&B hits on his own. Wilson's vocals were credited in part for inspiring the vocal style of New Jack Swing artists 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.

On August 26, 2005, The Gap Band was honored as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI Urban Awards. The honor is given to a creator who has been "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers."Outstanding" alone remains one of the most sampled songs in history and has, astonishingly, been used by over 150 artists.^[9]

Robert Wilson died of a heart attack at his home in Palmdale, California on August 15, 2010.^[10]

Sampling[link]

Since the 1990s, many The Gap Band hits have been sampled and covered by R&B and Hip-Hop artists such as Nas, 69 Boyz, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, II D Extreme, Blackstreet, Shaquille O'Neal, Mia X, and Mary J. Blige.^[11] "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.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Gap Band at Allmusic
• Facebook Page
• Myspace Page
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gap Band
• The Gap Band at WhoSampled
• Charlie Wilson in-depth interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' August 2011
• Charlie Wilson 2011 Interview at Soulinterviews.com

The Gap may refer to:

Places[link]

• The Gap, Coconino County, Arizona
• The Gap, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• The Gap (Sydney), an ocean cliff at Watsons Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, Australia
• The Gap, Brecon Beacons, a mountain pass in Wales
• Fort Indiantown Gap, a US Army fort located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
• The Gap No. 39, Saskatchewan, a rural municipality in Canada
• The Gap in Mountain passes in Montana

Albums and books[link]

• The Gap Band, an American music group
• The Gap (Joan of Arc album), a 2000 album by Joan of Arc
• The Gap (Steve Lacy album), a 1972 studio album by jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy
• The Gap (Bryn Haworth album), a 1980 studio album by Bryn Haworth
• The Gap Cycle, a science fiction novel series by Stephen Donaldson

Other[link]

• Gap (clothing retailer) or The Gap, a chain of retail clothing stores
• The Gap (film) (El Boquete), a 2006 Argentine film

See also[link]

• Gap (disambiguation)
• Gaap

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2010)

Leon Russell
Leon Russell in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Claude Russell Bridges
Born	(1942-04-02) April 2, 1942 (age 70) Lawton, Oklahoma United States
Genres	Country, rock, folk, rhythm and blues, folk rock, blues rock
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, piano, organ, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1956–present
Labels	Capitol, Shelter Records, Paradise Records

Claude Russell Bridges (born April 2, 1942), known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music.^[1]

Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, he began playing piano at the age of four. Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At this time he was already performing at Tulsa nightclubs.^[2] After moving to Los Angeles, he became a session musician, working as a pianist on the recordings of many notable musical artists since the 1960s. By the late 1960s, Russell diversified, becoming successful as an arranger ^[3] and wrote/co-wrote songs. As a musician, he worked his way from gigs as a sideman to well known performers. By 1970 he had graduated to solo recording artist, although he never ended all his previous roles within the music industry.

Russell was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, March 14, 2011, at a black-tie dinner at The Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan.^[4]

Career[link]

Russell began his musical career at the age of 14 in the nightclubs of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and his group The Starlighters, which included J.J. Cale, Leo Feathers, Chuck Blackwell and Johnny Williams,^[5] were instrumental in creating the style of music known as the Tulsa Sound. After settling in Los Angeles, he studied guitar with James Burton. Known mostly as a session musician early in his career, as a solo artist he has crossed genres to include rock and roll, blues, and gospel music, playing with artists as varied as Gary Lewis, George Harrison, Delaney Bramlett, Ringo Starr, Doris Day, Elton John, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Ventures, Willie Nelson, Badfinger, Tijuana Brass, Frank Sinatra, The Band, Bob Dylan, Glen Campbell, and The Rolling Stones.^[6]

As a member of Phil Spector's studio group, Russell played on many of the most popular songs of the 1960s, including some by The Byrds, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, and Herb Alpert. He can be seen in 1964's "The T.A.M.I. Show", playing piano with "The Wrecking Crew" (an informal name for the top L.A. session musicians of the 1960s), sporting short, dark, slicked-back hair, in contrast to his later look.^[6] Soon after, he was hired as Snuff Garrett's assistant/creative developer, playing on numerous #1 singles, including "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys.^[3] He wrote or co-wrote two hit songs for Gary Lewis and Playboys: "Everybody Loves a Clown" (which hit the Billboard Top 40 on October 9, 1965, remaining on the chart for 8 weeks and rising to number 4) and "She's Just My Style" (which hit Billboard's Top 40 on December 18, 1965 and rose to number 3).^[7] He played xylophone and bells on the 1966 single "The Joker Went Wild", sung by Brian Hyland and penned by Bobby Russell (no relation to Leon). He also worked sessions with Dorsey Burnette and Glen Campbell on Campbell's 1967 album Gentle on My Mind, where he was credited as "Russell Bridges" on piano.^{[citation needed]}

Russell's first commercial success as a songwriter came when Joe Cocker recorded the song "Delta Lady" for his 1969 album, Joe Cocker! ^[6] The album, produced and arranged by Russell, reached #11 on the Billboard 200.^[8] Russell went on to organize and perform in the tour supporting Cocker's album, Mad Dogs and Englishmen.^[9] "Superstar", co-written by Russell, Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett, was sung by Rita Coolidge on that tour and later proved a success for The Carpenters, Luther Vandross, Sonic Youth and other performers.

Soon after the Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour, Shelter Records released his 1970 eponymous solo album Leon Russell, which included the first recording of "A Song for You". This has become one of his best-known songs, with cover versions released by more than 40 different artists including Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Willie Nelson, Helen Reddy, Whitney Houston, Donny Hathaway, and Christina Aguilera. Both The Carpenters and The Temptations named an album after the song. Also in 1970, Russell played piano on Dave Mason's album, Alone Together, most notably on the song "Sad and Deep as You".

During the 1960s and '70s, Russell owned the Church Recording Studio on 3rd Street in Tulsa. Russell still records there frequently, while his former home on Grand Lake, in northeast Oklahoma, still contains the dining room table and chairs made from church pews from his Church Studio. On the property stands a private recording studio that has hosted many musicians, including members of The Beatles.

During the summer of 1971, at the invitation of George Harrison, Russell played piano on Badfinger's third album, Straight Up. The piano part complemented Pete Ham and George Harrison's dual slide guitars on Badfinger's "Day After Day". The Straight Up sessions were interrupted when many of the musicians left for New York City to participate in the Concert For Bangladesh, at which Russell performed a medley of the songs "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Young Blood" and sang a verse on Harrison's "Beware of Darkness."^[6] Russell (on bass guitar) and Harrison (on electric guitar and vocals) also played on a number of Bob Dylan's hits.

A busy year for Russell, 1971 also brought the Shelter release of Leon Russell And The Shelter People and Asylum Choir II (which was co-produced by Marc Benno). That same year, Russell played on recording sessions with B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan.

Russell helped blues guitarist Freddie King to revive his career by collaborating with him on three of his albums for Shelter during the early 1970s.

1972 was highlighted by a large-scale concert tour by Russell and his "Shelter People" entourage. A live performance was recorded in California at the Long Beach Arena on August 28, 1972, and was released as the Leon Live album. In November 1972, Billboard cited Russell as a top concert draw and reported the '72 tour gross at almost $3 million.^[3]

Russell's song, "This Masquerade", the B-side of his 1972 hit single "Tight Rope", went on to be recorded by numerous artists, including Helen Reddy and The Carpenters.^[10] George Benson's version of the song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.^[11]

In 1979, Russell and Willie Nelson had a number-one hit on the Billboard country music chart with their duet of "Heartbreak Hotel". Russell spent the next two years touring with the New Grass Revival, and released two more albums with Paradise before the label folded.^[6]

During November 2009, he wrote many songs with Elton John and Bernie Taupin for The Union, a double album record credited equally to both Russell and John. Recorded in February 2010 and produced by T-Bone Burnett,^[12] the CD was released on October 19, 2010.^[13] On April 2, 2011, Russell and John performed together as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live. A couple of months later, Leon announced plans for a solo LP, although no specifics were given. Leon and Elton embarked on The Union Tour

Leon's current band line up includes long time bass player Jackie Wessel, Brandon Holder on drums, Chris Simmons on guitar, and multi-instrumentalist Beau Charron.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leon Russell

• Official website
• Tulsa Area Music Archives, http://www.preservemusic.org