By Gloria DULAN-Wilson
Greetings All:
If
I seem a little somber today, it's because this marks the 9th
anniversary of the passing of the love of my life, LOU WILSON, who made
his transition tragically and suddenly from a coronary. We were 3000
miles apart when it happened - and it felt as if someone or something
had reached into my heart and soul and wrenched it out by the roots
suddenly. It took me six years before I could listen to his music
without crying.
Today,
I'm celebrating this FINE BLACK MAN, father of my beautiful children
and grandchildren, and appreciating all his talents, genius, witticisms,
and the gifts he's genetically endowed our offspring and their
offspring with. What a wonderful experience to have had this fantastic
Black man in my life!! Nutty as he was - with all the humor wisdom and
knowledge that he was blessed with, master musician, vocalist, composer,
writer, and educator. Most people don't realize that he was the
consummate educator, and was fascinated with watching children have that
"aha moment" when they grasped something new.
So
I'm sitting here,binge listening †ΓΈ his music, appreciating the deeper
meaning behing his lyrics, the fact that he was more militant in his
writing than many of our contemporaries. He took on the government, the
unequal drug laws, the brutality of the mentality of the meanstream
media all through his lyrics. So while people were partying, they were
also absorbing important concepts.
I
said he was a genius - I did not say he was an angel or a saint - he
had his share of foibles and challenges - he and I could sit back and
debate an issue all night long. He was also a champion for the
underdog, and I would find myself having to deal with (i.e. feed) the
many stray brothers he would bring to our door who were having a hard
time making it. At times this was simultaneous to our own hard times.
He couldn't drink worth a damn, and would get "riptified" once and a
while and end up in the company of some real degenerates. He managed to
come out unscathed though.
Our
home was full of music Black in the day - especially calypso music -
his favorite. And we'd wake up to the Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kithcener,
and others. Being of Jamaican, Barbadian and Panamanian heritage, and
my background in African musicology, we'd always be cooking something
up.
The
special thing about Lou was that it was always family first - that
meant his brothers, Ricardo "Ric" Wilson, Carlos "Mad Dog" Wilson, and
Wilfredo "Wolf" Wilson, all of whom made up their group, MANDRILL. The
group was Lou's brainchild. He had dropped out of Long Island
University with one semester left, while also working as a dental
assistant, because this dream of having his own music group,
amalgamating the talents of his brothers (all of whom were musically
trained) with other local talent. They started out in a small Black
owned club in Brooklyn called the Blue Coronet -
I didn't know them then - I was out of the country in Haiti at the time. When I came back to the US, my best friend, Annie Gee told me about this group with a fine brother with a butterfly on his fly. Of course, I wanted to know what she was doing looking at the brother's fly. As luck would have it, I met said brother at Temple University's McGonigle Hall and rapidly understood why. Not only was the music fantastic, but so was the leader - who turned out to be Lou Wilson - And all I could think was: TALL, DARK, AND CHOCOLATE! - That was in 1971. We were together from 1972 - separated in 1984, and reunited in 2006 until his death in 2013. But even between 1984 and 2006 we never lost contact - we had children to raise and make sure they made it to the next level.
This
may seem like TMI, but it really is the first time I've felt free to
discuss us even a little bit. I'm doing so now because I want my
grandchildren to know what an awesome man their granddad was - and how
much of his gene pool they share with their own talents, skills and
abilities. I hope they will gain from knowing how he took his talents
and did his best to maximize them.
I'm also reaching out to our children - whom he loved dearly to let them know that I'm alright. I just listening to all the magic Lou, his brothers, and others who played with the group at varying times, and thanking GOD THE LIVING SPIRIT ALMIGHTY for the time we spent together.
Celebrate the life and Genius of Lou Wynn Wilson by listening to some of his work on YouTube - or, if you have the original 33s - put one on the turntable for him.
Rest in Peace & Power LOU WILSON October 25, 1941 to January 7, 2013
Thanks so much
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Glo W.
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