 The first major hit for the Gap Band was a snazzy juke toon
called "Shake." Just prior to the completion of their first album, Charlie
Wilson cited the song for his brothers, thinking they might ridicule the lyric.
His brothers loved it though, and the song was a smash number four single on the
R&B charts, elevating the group to national status.
Born and raised in Tulsa, OK, the Wilson brothers began
singing and playing in their father's Pentecostal church, and it was also
mandatory they practice their music lessons at home as well. They learned
various instruments which primarily included the piano. As much as they despised
the lessons at the time, it proved to be a value tool for all three.
With Ronnie being the oldest, he established his own band by
the age of 14. Charlie, a few years younger, joined a rival band a couple of
years later. One night the two bands were performing across the street from one
another. Ronnie stopped by to check out Charlie grooving on the organ. While
there, Ronnie asked Charlie to join his band for 50 dollars over what he was
making. Though Charlie's bandmates doubled his offer, he joined his brother's
band, as Ronnie gave him no choice.
At a gig not too long after the two had joined forces, the
group's bass player quit and Ronnie and Charlie summoned their younger brother
Robert, barely 14, to the group to play bass. For a short while, the band
performed without a name. Finally they began going by the name the Greenwood,
Archer and Pine Streets Band. As advertising such a name on posters became too
lengthy, the group shortened the name to the G.A.P. Street Band. Due to a
typographical error, the group was advertised as the Gap Band and it stuck.
The Gap Band performed at various venues around the Tulsa
area, including country & western joints, tennis clubs, rock clubs, and wherever
else called on their services. However, by the middle of the 1970s, Charlie
became interested in Los Angeles and left Tulsa to explore his possibilities. A
short time later, Charlie convinced his brothers to join him. The group
floundered about L.A., hitting and missing on record deals, gigs, and the like.
Still maintaining their interest, the Gap Band met entertainment businessman
Lonnie Simmons through their friend, singer/musician D.J. Rogers. Simmons owned
a nightclub and a recording studio at the time and signed the group to his
company. (He would later start up a record label.)
The Top Five single "Shake" followed in 1979, along with "Steppin'
Out" (number ten) and "I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops, Up
Side Your Head)" (number four) in 1980. The latter was inspired at a concert in
Pittsburgh where some kids were chanting the groove and the Gap Band picked up
on it. In December of 1980, the trio dropped its first number one single with
"Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" and followed it with the Top Five ballad
"Yearning for Your Love" (1981).
The Gap Band went on to score three more number one songs
("Early in the Morning" and "Outstanding" in 1982 and "All of My Love" in 1989),
three more number two songs ("You Dropped a Bomb on Me" in 1982, "Beep a Freak"
in 1984, and "Going in Circles" in 1986) and a horde of Top Ten hits. The Gap
Band also did the soundtracks for Leon Isaac Kennedy's Penitentiary III and
Keena Ivory Waynans' I'm Gonna Get You Sucker. The group was given only 24 hours
notice to complete the title song.
In 1984 Ronnie became a born-again Christian and started
pastoring. He joined Melba Moore and David Peaston in the touring play Mama, I'm
Sorry. Charlie has been one of most sought-after vocalists in the music
industry. He has worked with Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Eurythmics, Snoop Dogg,
and scores of others. the Gap Band has recorded for various labels, including
Mercury and Capitol Records. The Gap Band has remained together, enduring the
good with the bad. They are still actively recording and touring the U.S. and
abroad. ~ Craig Lytle, All Music Guide
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