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Who is Ronnie Wilson's wife Linda? The Gap Band founder, 73, dies after stroke

Ronnie Wilson died at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma as his wife Linda held his hand

R&B and funk icon Ronnie Wilson, who was best known as one of the co-founders of The Gap Band, died at 10.01 am on Tuesday, November 2. The unfortunate news was shared by his wife Linda Boulware-Wilson on her official Facebook account. He was 73. The legendary musician had suffered a stroke last week that sent him into a semi-coma. Ronnie Wilson, who suffered several strokes in the last few years, could not recover from this one as he breathed his last at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

According to TMZ, Ronnie died peacefully as his wife Linda held his hand. The Gap Band shot to fame in the '70s. The band was formed with three brothers — Charlie, Ronnie and Robert Wilson. Charlie, who is now popularly known as Uncle Charlie is the only surviving member of the band. Speaking of celebrity deaths, we recently lost ‘Below Deck’ star Captain Mark Howard. The 'Deliverance' star Ned Beatty too died recently. Other celebrities that we lost in the last few months include Chick Vennera, DMX, Jay Black, legendary comedian Mort Sahl, Jeanette Maus, and many more.

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Who is Ronnie Wilson's wife?

Ronnie Wilson's wife Linda dubbed her late musician husband as a “genius” in playing the flugelhorn, trumpet and the keyboards. Announcing his death on Facebook, she wrote, “The love of my life was called home this morning, at 10:01am. Please continue to pray for The Wilson, Boulware, and Collins family, while we mourn his passing." She went on remembering her late husband, "Ronnie Wilson was a genius with creating, producing, and playing the flugelhorn, Trumpet, keyboards, and singing music, from childhood to his early seventies. He will be truly missed!!!"

Linda, who seems to be only active on Facebook, shared a few pictures of them. It seems they preferred living a quiet life away from the norms of social media. Speaking of Ronnie, he was the eldest of all the brothers in The Gap Band. The band was named after streets Greenwood, Archer, and Pine in remembrance of the Tulsa race massacre. The trio was best known for their album ‘Gap Band IV’ that delivered hits like ‘Outstanding’, ‘Early In the Morning’ and their signature hit, ‘You Dropped A Bomb On Me’. After giving a new shape to soul and funk music, the band hung their boots in 2010.

‘These dudes’ music was the soundtrack to my childhood’

Tributes poured in for the iconic musician as fans were left devasted after hearing the news. “RIP Ronnie Wilson of The Gap Band. Someone check on our Uncle Charlie Wilson and give him a big hug!" said one fan as another mourned, “Damn RIP Ronnie Wilson. The Gap Band is beyond legendary.” One user tweeted, “Damn #RIP to a legend. Probably one of the hardest bass lines I've ever heard and played on a synth.” One added, “Sad news Broken heart. I was always a big fan.” Meanwhile, one stated, “Rest In Peace Ronnie Wilson. my condolences go out to Charlie”, as another concluded, “These dudes music was the soundtrack to my childhood.”