"I don't like players whose main goal is to show that they're technical wizards," he commented. Wilson's pumping, dynamic basslines had become one of the most identifiable components of the group's distinctive sound, earning him the sobriquet "the Godfather of the bass".
With their stetson hats and glittery satin outfits, the Gap Band were becoming flamboyant flag-wavers for the funk-R&B boom. The latter has subsequently been frequently sampled, and it cropped up in the computer game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Gap Band IV (1982) went bigger still, generating three smashes in Outstanding, Early in the Morning and the band's best-remembered hit, You Dropped a Bomb On Me. The Gap Band III (1980) powered the group to further heights, crossing over onto the Billboard Top 20 and generating an R&B chart-topper in Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me). A second track from the album, Steppin' (Out), reached No 10. Then they reached No 4 on the R&B charts with the tongue-in-cheek track I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance, a song from the album The Gap Band II which became better known for its repeated phrase "Oops Upside Your Head". With the assistance of the producer Lonnie Simmons, whose label Total Experience had wide distribution through Mercury/Polygram, they recorded the album The Gap Band (1979), which produced the R&B hit Shake. It took a move to Los Angeles to bring the group to prominence. This led to them recording some sessions with A&M, and then to Tattoo/RCA, where they cut a second album which sold poorly. "He basically removed his band and installed us." They recorded an album, Magician's Holiday (1974), for Shelter, but it went nowhere. "Leon heard us one night and snatched up the whole band," Robert Wilson recalled. In 1974, they were spotted by the session musician turned solo star Leon Russell, who recruited them as his backing band and signed them to his label Shelter.
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