OCTOBER 25, 2015 - CELEBRATING THE 74TH BIRTHDAY OF LOU WILSON

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

Well, this is October 25, 2015 - and Lou Wilson, the love of my life, would have celebrated his 74th Birthday, had he lived.

I know that our children are remembering their Dad fondly, as are his brothers.

He was much loved and greatly missed by us all.

I am at peace now with his having joined the ancestor/angels - and in a lot better space today than I was nearly three years ago - when m heart was broken and rolling all over the floor like shards of glass.

My sister/friend Fikisha Cumbo shared this photo she took of him at one of the performances in Manhattan - I was somewhere offside/back stage.

There were so many crazy and wonderful memories of the times we shared - but what I want people to remember most about Lou is how much he loved music - he walked, talked, slept, ate and breathed music - it fairly exuded from his pores.  It was passed on to our children, and is so contagious that music vibrates through each of us - even now!

Whenever you listen to any music by Mandrill, just remember the lyrics and the music were written, composed, arranged by this musical genius.  Each one a masterpiece - whether it made the charts or not.   He was as much an ethnomusicologist as he was an artist.  He loved music from all cultures.  We had a musical house, and anything and everything could be transformed into a musical instrument once it found its way into his hands. 

Our handsome son, Rais, who had the opportunity to perform and tour with his dad,  has started his own group, Ganika, channels a lot of his dad's talents in so many wonderful ways - breaking new ground, stepping outside the proverbial box.  So do our wonderful grandchildren - so in many ways, Lou may not be here among us on this plane of action, but he is being reborn daily through all of them.

Every time you listen to his music, he's being reborn.  Listen to his lyrics and you get the full measure of who Lou Wilson was/is.  His deep, philosophical underpinnings are in the lyrics of the songs he wrote.  His love of people was expressed through is lyrics.  

Even during the period of our separation, I loved his music - Mandrill will always be the tops for me in original composition and quality.  Each one of those Wilson brothers was a master musician in their own right - Ric, Carlos, Wolf - and most of all Lou - who was the inspiration and founder of the group with his very talented brothers 45 years ago.  

Also remember that he loved children and always sought to educate them - teach them something new and watch the look of wonderment in their eyes as they began to grasp it.  He was always teaching.  He did it with our children, the neighbors' children, and any little person who came into his environment.  He loved knowledge.

He also loved good comedy -  especially Richard Pryor,  Bill Cosby and Carol Burnette.  Being a class clown himself, we could sit and watch comedy shows for hours on end - there is a genius behind being able to tell a joke and get a laugh - and he seemed to have mastered that craft - and passed it on to our son, as well.

Since I'm keeping this salute brief, I will close with something we used to sing to each other at the end of each phone conversation - it was originally by Carol Burnette, one of our favorite comediennes:  "I'm so glad we had this time together..."

Happy Birthday Lou - we love and miss you very much!  Give my greetings to Mom and Dad Wilson; my parents, Ruby and Warner Dulan, and to Gil Scott Heron ( I know you two are collaborating on something great), Alonzo,  JiTu Weusi, and all our wonderful  friends.    

And yes, I still love cooking! lol 

Stay Blessed & 
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Much Love from 
GLO