The Gap Band

    Collection of The Gap Band

    The Gap Band, centered around brothers Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, toiled in obscurity for several years prior to becoming one of the most popular funk groups of the late '70s and 1980s. The Tulsa, OK natives produced 15 Top Ten R&B singles ranging from ferocious funk anthems to gorgeous slow jams. Many of their hits, such as "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" and "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," featured instantly memorable, rippling synthesizer basslines. All of them featured Charlie's deep, invigorating lead vocals. While casual R&B fans and most critics associate the Gap Band with the early '80s, the Wilsons' run of hits spanned nearly 20 years, from 1977 through 1995.

    Born and raised in Tulsa, OK, the Wilson brothers began singing and playing in their father's Pentecostal church; at home, music lessons were mandatory. They learned various instruments, primarily the piano. As much as they despised the lessons at the time, they proved to be invaluable. Ronnie, the oldest sibling, established his own band by the age of 14. Charlie, a few years younger, joined a rival band a couple 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 that offer, he joined his brother's band. Ronnie gave him no choice.

    At a gig not too long after the two had joined forces, the bass player quit and Ronnie and Charlie summoned their younger brother Robert, barely 14, to take the spot. For a short while, the band performed without a name but eventually settled on the Greenwood, Archer & Pine Street Band. As advertising such a name on posters was cumbersome, the Wilsons shortened the name to the G.A.P. Street Band. Due to a typographical error, they were advertised as the Gap Band, and it stuck.

    The band performed at venues around the Tulsa area, including country & western joints, tennis clubs, and rock clubs. However, by the middle of the 1970s, Charlie left Tulsa to explore his possibilities in Los Angeles. A short time later, he convinced his brothers to join him. The bandmembers floundered until they met entertainment businessman Lonnie Simmons through their friend, singer/songwriter/musician D.J. Rogers. Simmons owned a recording studio and nightclub, both of which were dubbed Total Experience (also the name that would appear on Gap Band releases during the '80s), and signed the Wilsons along with their nine bandmates.

    The Gap Band's first album, Magician's Holiday, was released in 1974 to little fanfare. A self-titled album followed three years later; despite guest appearances from D.J. Rogers, Reverend James Cleveland, Chaka Khan, Leon Russell, and Les McCann, it didn't leave any chart impressions, either, though it did feature a pair of minor hits in "Out of the Blue (Can You Feel It)" -- an excellent, mellow, electric piano-driven song written by Charlie -- and "Little Bit of Love."

    A deal with Mercury put the Gap Band on the fast track. A self-titled 1979 album reached number ten on Billboard's R&B chart, led by the success of "Shake" (number four R&B) and "Open Up Your Mind" (number 13 R&B). They followed it later in the year with The Gap Band II, an album that spawned two more Top Ten R&B singles. Released in 1980, The Gap Band III was their first number one R&B album, where their sound became even more distinctive. It wasn't just the voice of Charlie that stood out. "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" was the band's first major hit dominated by a synthesizer bassline, provided by Cavin Yarbrough, who scored around the same time with his and Alisa Peoples' "Don't Stop the Music." Just as those two songs defined the sound of clubs in 1980, "Yearning for Your Love" quickly became a classic ballad, and was covered a decade later by Guy (whose Aaron Hall was the younger singer most evidently inspired by Charlie's sound and style).

    There's no denying that the Gap Band's peak came during the early '80s. This notion would have been easy to predict as early as 1982, when they released three major hits: "Early in the Morning" (number one R&B; covered by Robert Palmer), "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" (number two R&B), and "Outstanding" (number one R&B). Even so, it's not as if the remainder of the decade was dry for them, not when they released 16 additional charting A-sides (including the title song to Keenan Ivory Wayans' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka), six of which reached the R&B Top Ten, as well as popular albums on an almost annual basis. Their popularity waned only when they slowed their recording schedule. Three studio Gap Band albums were released during the 1990s. Charlie Wilson concentrated on his solo career, starting in 1992 with You Turn My Life Around. The singer began to reach out to a younger audience in 1996, when Snoop Dogg featured him on "Snoop's Upside Your Head." Further collaborations with Snoop, R. Kelly, and Justin Timberlake followed throughout the 2000s. In August 2010, Robert Wilson died of a heart attack. Allmusic by Andy Kellman


    Album: (Magician's Holiday (1974)









    01. I Like It
    02. Backbone
    03. After All Is Said & Done
    04. Fontessa Fame
    05. You Can Always Count On Me
    06. Bad Girl
    07. Easy Life
    08. Loving You Is Everything
    09. Tommy's Groove
    10. Magician's Holiday




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/8x7dRv7




    Album: (The Gap Band (1976)










    01. Out Of The Blue (Can You Feel It)
    02. Stand Up And Dance With Me
    03. Not Guilty
    04. God Is Watching You
    05. Little Bit Of Love
    06. Hang On (To Yourself)
    07. Knuckle Head Funkin'
    08. Thinking Of You
    09. Silly Grin





    http://www.fileserve.com/file/hcAQfEm





    Album: (The Gap Band (1977)










    01. Shake
    02. You Can Count on Me
    03. Open up Your Mind (Wide)
    04. Messin' With My Mind
    05. Baby Baba Boogie
    06. I'm in Love
    07. Got to Get Away
    08. I Can Sing




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/QfMhmmF




    Album: (II (1978)









    01. Steppin' (Out)
    02. No Hiding Place
    03. I Don't Believe You Want to Get up and Dance (Oops!)
    04. Who Do You Call
    05. You Are My High
    06. Party Lights
    07. The Boys Are Back in Town




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/CWBf4QT




    Album: (III (1980)









    01. When I Look in Your Eyes
    02. Yearning for Your Love
    03. Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
    04. Nothin' Comes to Sleepers
    05. Are You Living
    06. Sweet Caroline
    07. Humpin'
    08. The Way
    09. Gash Gash Gash




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/7x7KwFB




    Album: (IV (1982)









    01. Early in the Morning
    02. Season's No Reason to Change
    03. Lonely Like Me
    04. Outstanding
    05. Stay With Me
    06.You Dropped a Bomb on Me
    07. I Can't Get over You
    08. Talkin' Back




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/7u6ux6D




    Album: (V Jammin' (1983)









    01. Introduction -- Where Are We Going? [Instrumental]
    02. Shake a Leg
    03. I'm Ready (If You're Ready)
    04. You're My Everything
    05. Jammin' in America
    06. Smile
    07. Party Train
    08. Jam the Motha
    09. I Expect More
    10. You're Something Special
    11. Someday




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/uxrz3x2




    Album: (Strike A Groove (Remixes) (1983)









    01. Not Guilty
    02. Silly Grin
    03. Knuckle Head Funkin'
    04. Listen To The Music
    05. Party Down
    06. I Can Sing
    07. Strike A Groove
    08. Merry-Go-Round




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/Vzn4kCf





    Album: (VI (1984)









    01. The Sun Don't Shine Everybody (Instrumental Interlude)
    02. Video Junkie
    03. Weak Spot
    04. The Sun Don't Shine Everybody (Instrumental Interlude)
    05. I Believe
    06. I Found My Baby
    07. Beep A Freak
    08. Don't You Leave Me
    09. Disrespect
    10. The Sun Don't Shine Everyday (Vocal)




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/jqgjKxC




    Album: (VII (1985)









    01. Desire
    02. Going in Circles
    03. Automatic Brain
    04. L'il Red Junkin' Hood
    05. Ooh, What a Feeling
    06. I Want a Real Love
    07. Bumpin' Gum People
    08. I Know We'll Make It
    09. I Need Your Love




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/qaXwNR6




    Album: (8 (1987)









    01. Big Fun
    02. I Can't Live Without Your Love
    03. Get Loose, Get Funky
    04. Don't Take It Away
    05. Going In Circles
    06. Keep Holding On
    07. I'll Always Love You
    08. Bop B Da B Da Da
    09. I Owe It To Myself




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/dghzCdG





    Album: Straight From The Heart (1988)









    01. Come & Dance
    02. Sweeter Than Candy
    03. All The Way Yours
    04. I'm So Satisfied
    05. Straight From The Heart
    06. That's It, I Quit
    07. You Told Me That
    08. I Will Never Leave You





    http://www.fileserve.com/file/ssbT7Uk




    Album: Round Trip (1989)











    01. All Of My Love
    02. Addicted To Your Love
    03. We Can Make It Alright
    04. It's Our Duty
    05. Wednesday Lover
    06. I Like It
    07. I'm Dreaming
    08. Antidote (To Love)
    09. No Easy Out
    10. Jam (feat. Krazy Tee)
    11. Let's Talk About Love




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/X6uHup9




    Album: Testimony (1994)









    01. Testimony
    02. Confess Your Love
    03. Come Into My Love Life
    04. Outside Lookin In
    05. Gap's Jam
    06. Based On GAP
    07. Everbody Knows
    08. I Can Make You Dance
    09. Gimme Lovin Everyday
    10. Funky Bass Man




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/SVBPzmM





    Album: The Best Of The Gap Band (1994)










    01. Early in the Morning
    02. Shake
    03. Outstanding
    04. Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
    05. Yearning for Your Love
    06. Open Up Your Mind (Wide)
    07. You Dropped a Bomb on Me
    08. You Can Count on Me
    09. I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)
    10. Steppin' (Out)
    11. Humpin'
    12. The Boys Are Back in Town
    13. Party Train




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/yrawxBu





    Album: Ain't Nothin' But A Party (1995)










    01. Where's My Glasses
    02. First Lover
    03. Closin' The G.A.P.
    04. Got It Goin' On
    05. You Dropped A Bomb On Me (The Remix)
    06. Love At Your Fingertips
    07. Shake Dat Booty
    08. Here We Go
    09. Over The Funkin' Hill (Feat. George Clinton)
    10. Closin' The G.A.P. (Extended Club Edit)
    11. Why You Wanna Funk Around
    12. Got It Goin' On (Part II)




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/FMRjh3P




    Album: Live & Well (1996)









    01. Intro
    02. Gap Band Party
    03. Wide
    04. Oops Upside Your Head
    05. Outstanding
    06. Humpin'
    07. No Hiding Place
    08. Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
    09. Gotta Get Up
    10. Early In The Morning
    11. Party Train
    12. Drop The Bomb
    13. Yearning For Your Love
    14. Yearning (Reprise) (Shooby Doo Mix)
    15. Mega Mix (Gotta Get Up Mix)
    16. Bonus Track




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/3BMAWNz




    Album: The Ballads Collection (1998)









    01. Yearning For Your Love
    02. Going In Circles (Remix)
    03. You Can Count On Me
    04. Nothing Comes To Sleepers
    05. I'm In Love
    06. I Want To A Real Love
    07. Outstanding
    08. Season's No Reason To Change
    09. No Hidiing Place
    10. I'm So Satisfied
    11. You're My Everything
    12. You Are My High




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/K8jAF4F




    Album: Y2K Funkin' Till 2000 Comz (1999)









    01. Funkin' Till 2000 Comz
    02. Baby I Remember Your Face
    03. Good Old Fashion Lovin'
    04. Untoudhable
    05. Scandalous
    06. No Color Lines
    07. Messin' With My Flow
    08. For The People
    09. Style & Grace
    10. Otta' Be Like This
    11. Good Old Fashion Lovin' (AC Mix-Bonus Track)
    12. Funkin' Till 2000 Comz (Millennium Mix)




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/GeG27AW




    Album: 12 Inch Collection And More (1999)









    01. You Dropped a Bomb on Me (Original 12 Mix)
    02. Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) (Original 12 Mix)
    03. Early in the Morning (Original 12 Mix)
    04. Party Train (Original 12 Special Dance Mix)
    05. Outstanding (Original 12 Mix)
    06. I Don't Believe You Want to Get up and Dance (Oops!) (Original 12 Mix)
    07. Shake (Original 12 Disco Version)
    08. Humpin (Original 12 Full-Length LP Version)




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/JvSSSqc




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