The Gap Band
Wikimp3 information about the music of The Gap Band. On our website we have 56 albums and 45 collections of artist The Gap Band. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that The Gap Band represents Hip Hop/R&B genres.
Biography
[Edit]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. ~ Andy Kellman & Craig Lytle, Rovi
Title: Funk Essentials: The Best of the Gap Band
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Gap Band: Ultimate Collection
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Electronica, Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Dancefloor, Dance Pop, Funk
Title: Funk Essentials - The 12" Collection and More: The Gap Band
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Funk
Title: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Gap Band
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Funk
Title: Original Artist Hit List: The Gap Band
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Funk
Title: Funk Essentials - The 12 " Collection And More: The Gap Band
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Gap Band V - Jammin' (Expanded Edition)
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Funk
Title: Greatest Hits
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Industrial, Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, New Wave, Post Punk, Metal, Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal, Country, Country Rock, Pop, Ska, Funk, Progressive
Title: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of The Gap Band
Artist: The Gap Band
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Collections
Title: Dance Anthems: The Ultimate Collection 2020 (CD2)
Genre: Dancefloor, Disco, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: 100 Hit Tracks The Ultimate Collection: R&B Anthems (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Jazz, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: Summertime Songs Essentials 2020 (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Rock, Punk Rock, World Music, Disco, Alternative, Funk, Indie
Title: Disco Best 100 (CD3)
Title: Funk Essentials: Apple Music (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Dancefloor, Dance Pop, Alternative, Funk, Indie
Title: Funk Essentials: Apple Music (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Dancefloor, Dance Pop, Alternative, Funk, Indie
Title: Greatest Ever 80s (CD4)
Title: The Best 80s Car Songs In The World Ever (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: 200 DJ Loaded Beautiful Feelings (CD4)
Genre: Dancehall, Reggaeton, World Music, Nu Disco, Synth Pop
Title: Best Of Disco Music- Classics (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Funk
Title: 80s Hits Essentials (CD3)
Title: Now Thats What I Call Music! 9 (1987-2021) (CD1)
Genre: Electronica, House, Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Reggae, Synth Pop, Funk, Classical
Title: Slow Jams Essentials 2021 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Soul Jazz, Rock
Title: '80s Dance Party Essentials (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: '80s Club Essentials 2021 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Dancefloor, Club/Dance, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: 100 Greatest 80s Love Songs (CD2)
Genre: Electronica, Rock, Pop
Title: '80s R&B Essentials 2021 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Top 84 Funk Hits Spotify 2020 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Gospel, Rock, Punk Rock, Country, Disco, Funk, Classical
Title: The Best Summer Holiday In The World... Ever! (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: Quiet Storm Essentials (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Quiet Storm Essentials (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Happy Soul For Kids
Genre: Soul
Title: Chill R&B For Kids
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: Funk For Kids
Genre: Kids
Title: Mastermix Crate 031 - Soul Sessions
Genre: Electronica
Title: NOW Yearbook 1980 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Pop
Title: Mastermix Classic Cuts 002 - Party
Genre: Pop
Title: NOW That's What I Call A Massive 80s Party (CD4)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop, Funk
Title: Solid 80s - Gold Funk Feel Disco 2022 (CD2)
Genre: Disco
Title: ’80s Jam Session 2023
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Punk Rock, Pop
Title: Mastermix Essential Hits: Jazz Soul Funk 2023
Genre: Jazz
Title: Welcome To The Quiet Storm 2023 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: Disco - Revienta La Pista 2023
Genre: Disco
Title: Mastermix DJ Beats 132
Genre: Electronica
Title: Funk Outta Here 2024 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: Fiesta Ochentera 2024
Featuring albums
Title: Pure Funk
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Electronica, Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Dancefloor, Disco, Pop
Title: Krush Groove - Music from the Original Motion Picture
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Love Jones: The Best Of Funk Essentials Ballads Vol.2
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: Krush Groove (Music from the Original Motion Picture)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Down Town Funk (Original Soundtrack) (CD1)
Artist: Ministry Of Sound
Genre: Soul, Disco, Theatre/Soundtrack, Funk
Title: Love's Train: The Best Of Funk Essentials Ballads
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: The Best Of Disco Funk (Disco Nights Vol.2)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Dancefloor, Dance Pop