Charlie Wilson – Street Line Video

Director Vera Edwards

Vera Edwards is an award-winning American independent film director/producer/and author. Born and raised in the South Bronx, Edwards took her life experience and applied it to film. She and her son Ricardo Cordero began their Journey as visual storytellers by gathering independent artist from the streets and giving them a platform to express their talent by allowing them to further their careers as actors.

Edwards and her son formed Street Line Video an underground media video production team for unsung talent. Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero have recorded major celebrities on and off stage such as Babyface, Charlie Wilson, Nikki Minaj, New Edition, The Ojays, Millie Jackson, Kurtis Blow Rick Ross just to name a few. She states after filming so many celebrities and helping them retain themselves in the music industry it was time that her son an herself needed to embark on creating history for themselves. She then wrote her first novel Band of Gold, which was one of the urban communities best selling books, you can get it free on Amazon. Edwards stated it was the book that she wanted to turn into a movie drama. Readers requested more of her work that's when She learned that our stories need to be told. So she then decided to shoot her own movies to generate her audience and followers, because of the high demand of her first novel Band of Gold Edwards wrote scripts for her son to shoot and edit and distribute across the world.

Edwards has had several Independent films that played in the theater such as Chick-en, Waiting 4 Mr. Wright starring Michael Clee from The Fearless 4, a their first novella titled Perate starring Tito from the 1980s group The fearless four. All three of these movies won Beta awards and had sold out shows. Edwards also has a soap opera title "Rodent" the Urban Soap opera which was released as a web series which was a drama and a battle rap movie titled PPRESSED starring Karine Sho-time Thornton and Mikey D (Michael Deering) of the Legendary 90s hip hop rap group Main Source. These movies met all kinds of genre in all types of countries. Which made the two web series a download hit.

Edwards latest work a pandemic movie titled a teenage story starring La Sunshine from the 1980s hip hop rap group The treacherous three, Grandwizard Theodore creator of DJ scratch and Stevie D from the 1980s r&b group The Force Mds was aired during the lock-down of the COVID 19 pandemic. The pandemic had the whole world staying in the house for a year and a half 2020 and a portion of 2021. The movie a teenage story was released on youtube for free and generated over 800,000 views. Not bad for and independent full featured movie. Since the pandemic has been lifted somewhat Edwards has started working on a new up-and-coming movie tv drama for the 2023 fall tv line up (now in production). She guarantees her audience will love this one. All movies can be viewed and seen all over the world. Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero said they will continue to work as a directors and pride themselves by continuing to promote artist who couldn't receive a fair chance in the entertainment world. You can watch all of their movie on youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-wMxedqsYlGlg2HezxvWmA

The Gap Band

The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson; and it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, and Pine) in the historic Greenwood neighborhood in the brothers’ hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The group shortened its name to The Gap Band in 1973. After 43 years together, they retired in 2010.

The band received its first big break by being the back up band for fellow Oklahoman Leon Russell’s Stop All That Jazz album released in 1974.

Early on, the group took on a funk sound reminiscent of the early 1970s. This style failed to catch on, and their first two LP’s, 1974’s Magician’s Holiday which was recorded at Leon Russell’s historic The Church Studio and 1977’s The Gap Band (not to be confused with their 1979 album), failed to chart or produce any charting singles. Afterwards, they were introduced to LA producer Lonnie Simmons, who signed them to his production company Total Experience Productions (named after his successful Crenshaw Boulevard nightclub), and managed to get them a record deal with Mercury Records.

On their first album with Simmons, The Gap Band, they found chart success with songs such as “I’m in Love” and “Shake”; the latter became a Top 10 R&B hit in 1979.

Later that year, the group released “I Don’t Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops!)” on their album The Gap Band II. Although it did not hit the Hot 100, it soared to #4 R&B, and the album went gold. The song, and the band’s musical output as a whole, became more P-Funk-esque, with expanded use of the synthesizers and spoken monologues within songs (see audio sample). The song “Steppin’ (Out)” also reached the top 10 R&B.

The band reached a whole new level of fame in 1980 with the release of the #1 R&B and #16 Billboard 200 hit, The Gap Band III. That album had soul ballads such as the #5 R&B song “Yearning for Your Love”, and funk songs such as the R&B chart-topper “Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)” and “Humpin'”. They repeated this formula on the #1 R&B album Gap Band IV in 1982 (the first album released on Simmons’ newly launched Total Experience Records), which resulted in three hit singles: “Early in the Morning” (#1 R&B, #13 Dance, #24 Hot 100), “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” (#2 R&B, #31 Hot 100, #39 Dance), and “Outstanding” (#1 R&B, #24 Dance). It was during this time that former Brides of Funkenstein singer Dawn Silva joined them on tour.

Their 1983 album, Gap Band V: Jammin’, went gold, but was not quite as successful as the previous works, peaking at #2 R&B and #28 on the Billboard 200. The single “Party Train” peaked at #3 R&B, and the song “Jam the Motha'” peaked at #16 R&B, but neither made it onto the Hot 100. The album’s closer “Someday” (a loose cover of Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free”) featured Stevie Wonder as a guest vocalist.

Their next work, Gap Band VI brought them back to #1 R&B in 1985, but the album sold fewer copies and did not go gold. “Beep a Freak” hit #2 R&B, “I Found My Baby” peaked at #8 on the R&B charts, and “Disrespect” peaked at #18. That year, lead singer Charlie Wilson and singer Shirley Murdock provided backing vocals on Zapp & Roger’s #2 R&B “Computer Love”

While their 1986 cover of “Going in Circles” went to #2 on the R&B charts, and the album it was released on, Gap Band VII, hit #6 R&B, the album almost became their first in years to miss the Billboard 200, peaking at a mere #159.

While they were beginning to struggle stateside, the group found their greatest success in the UK when their 1986 single “Big Fun” from Gap Band 8 reached #4 in the UK Singles Chart. 1988’s Straight from the Heart was their last studio album with Total Experience.

The Gap Band caught a small break in 1988 with the Keenen Ivory Wayans film I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. They contributed the non-charting “You’re So Cute” and the #14 R&B title track to the film (The first was not on the soundtrack, but was used in the film). Their first song on their new label, Capitol Records, 1989’s “All of My Love” (from their album Round Trip), is, to date, their last #1 R&B hit. The album also produced the #8 R&B “Addicted to Your Love” and the #18 R&B “”We Can Make it Alright.” They left Capitol Records the next year and went on a five-year hiatus from producing new material.

During the 1990s, the band released three non-charting studio albums and two live albums.

LEGACY:

In 1992, Charlie ventured into a solo career and has had several moderate R&B hits on his own. Wilson’s vocals were credited in part for inspiring the vocal style of new jack swing artists Guy, Aaron Hall, Keith Sweat, and R. Kelly. The band reunited in 1996, and issued The Gap Band: Live and Well, a live greatest hits album.

On August 26, 2005, The Gap Band was honored as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI Urban Awards. The honor is given to a creator who has been “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers”. “Outstanding” alone remains one of the most sampled songs in history and has, astonishingly, been used by over 150 artists.

Robert Wilson died of a heart attack at his home in Palmdale, California on August 15, 2010, at the age of 53.