By Gloria DULAN-Wilson
Hello All:
Today
is June 30, 2021, the last day of Black Music Month Celebrations, and I
thought I'd try something different in celebrating our Black geniuses.
Historically speaking, we brought rhythm to the world. Our music
tradition is rooted in our AFRICAN HERITAGE - and is a combination of energy, syncopation, vibrancy, and saturated with
soul. No matter what culture you're in, it's Black music that brought the
sizzle. And one of the biggest exponents and example of this genre of
funk is MANDRILL, Inc.
Last
year I did an over view of the group, and shared some of the classics
that many may or may not remember. This year I'm trying something
different. This will be the 80th Birthday Anniversary of my hubbie, LOU
WILSON, who founded the Group MANDRILL, along with his brothers, Carlos
(Carl - Mad Dog) and Ricardo Ric/(Doc) Wilson.
It's
also the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the group. LOU had been
attending Long Island University (LIU) in Brooklyn; and, like most
Caribbean brothers, working numerous other jobs - including dental
assistant, driving a taxi, and part time barber. In the back of his
head, and deep in his heart, his love of music, and the desire to start
his own group grew so strong that he literally dropped out of college
one degree away from completing his degree in psychology. His love for
music and his musical skill stemmed from his father, Wilfred (Fred)
Wilson, who made sure all his sons (there were 5 of them - Lou was the
eldest) could play a musical instrument to proficiency. Lou's
instrument was the trumpet; Ric's was the saxophone; Carl's was the
flute and slide trombone - in between all that, they also mastered
several percussion instruments. Their Mother, Doris (Mom's) Wilson let
them use her beauty parlor in their Brooklyn Brownstone family home, on
Marcy Avenue, for rehearsals (I had to spell that out folks! Lou loved
that home and often referred to it no matter where we were).
By
the time I met the guys in 1972, they had already begun to take the
world by storm with their eclectic music style - a combination of Blues,
Funk, Afro/Latin/Jazz, and Rock music. There were conversant in the
various languages of music, with a Panamania/Jamaican/Barbadian heritage
- there was practically nothing they could not or did not master.
And,
here we go again!! I'm bragging about the raw versatility of this
tremendously talented group of men. Which is why I decided to change
the format and conduct interviews with some of the guys who knew them
early on behind the scenes in action. So I contacted my
Brother/Friend/Classmate, Vaughn Thomas, who was
Mandrill's Road Manager from 1972 through 1975, to see if he would do a
ZOOM interview with me about the group and their impact on Black
Music.
Vaughn, in turn, reached out to David Dansky, sound tech and engineer extraordinaire, who had been with the group from 1971 through 1975; and David reached out to Kevin Smith, a fellow Roadie who had charge of instruments and stage set up from 1974 to 1975. Vaughn also contacted Omar Mesa
who was lead string guitar player with the group from 1971 through
1975. I served as hostess, and the rest was nostalgic magic!! I'm
sharing the link below. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed our Mini-Mandrill-Reunion.
Before
we start, thought, I must give credit where credit is due: Had it not
been for David Dansky's technological prowess, this most certainly would
not have come to fruition.
I
am dedicating this to LOU WILSON - Love of My Life - as well as to
Ric,Carl, Wolf, and all the guys who comprised and comprise Mandrill
over the years - you guys are still the most awesome group of musical
geniuses ever. But more especially, I'm dedicating this to our
beautiful children, Rais, Adiya, Kira, and Victor; and our beautiful
grandchildren, who are displaying talents of their own.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK -
Glo.W
Click on link below or copy and paste to view interview:
NOW THAT YOU KNOW
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
 | |||
| Gloria DULAN-Wilson |
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