Ronnie Wilson, a founding member of The Gap Band, died Tuesday morning at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was 73.
According to Wilson’s wife Linda, the musician suffered a stroke last week. “Ronnie Wilson was a genius with creating, producing, and playing the flugelhorn, Trumpet, keyboards, and singing music, from childhood to his early seventies,” she wrote on Facebook. “He will be truly missed!!!”
Wilson and his brothers Charlie and Robert formed The Gap Band in the early 70s and performed together until 2009. They released 15 studio albums along the way and had hits on the U.S. R&B chart like “Early in the Morning,” “Outstanding” and “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.”
Dave Grohl said this year that the drum intro on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is “straight up Gap Band."
Robert died of a heart attack in 2010 at 53. In 2015, Ronnie sued Charlie, claiming he was preventing him from using the band's name.