Ronnie Wilson, Founding Member Of The Gap Band Dead At 73

Sad news to report to you on this Wednesday as the world of music has lost another influential musician.

According to multiple sources, Ronnie Wilson, the older brother of "Uncle" Charlie Wilson and one of the founding members of The Gap Band, died on Tuesday at the age of 73. The announcement was made by his wife Linda Boulware-Wilson in a post on her personal Facebook page.

The Gap Band was formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Ronnie, Charlie and Robert Wilson, who grew up singing in their father's church. The name of the band is an abbreviation of street names in the heart of Tulsa's Black business district.

After their first record came out in 1974, they had hits throughout the ‘70s and ’80s with songs like “Shake," “I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up and Dance (Oops!)" "Outstanding" and “You Dropped a Bomb On Me."

Many of their songs, including “Outstanding,” were often used as samples on hip-hop tracks decades later. Most notably, The Gap Band was credited as co-writers for the Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson hit, “Uptown Funk,” after a legal claim due to its similarity to "I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance (Oops!)”.

According to TMZ, Ronnie had suffered from a series of strokes over the last few years and he suffered one last week which put him into a semi-coma that he never recovered from. He died peacefully with his wife Linda by his side according to the same report.

Unfortunately, that leaves Charlie Wilson as the sole surviving member of the band now that Ronnie has passed on. Robert Wilson, who was the bassist for the band, died at age 53 in 2010. We send our condolences to the Wilson Family.