He was not on the list.
The late Johnnie Wilder, Jr. (d: May 2006) had the vision
that led to the creation of the multi-ethnic 1970s band Heatwave, as well as
the soft baritone and high falsetto that powered hits like “Always and
Forever,” “Mind Blowing Decisions” and “Ain’t No Half Steppin’.”
The late Rod Temperton (d: October 2016) had the keyboard
playing and songwriting skills that helped him create those tunes for the band
along with many more for other artists.
But it was Johnny’s more soulful sounding younger brother,
Keith Wilder, who provided the grittier funk lead vocals that made the songs
“Boogie Nights” and “The Groove Line” Heatwave’s biggest-selling pop singles.
Keith Edward Wilder died in his sleep on Sunday, October 29,
at the age of 65. Wilder was the last
original voice of the energetic band whose fun yet funky disco songs and
beautiful ballads from the late 1970s made them one of the most liked bands of
their short-lived era. In a sad
coincidence, Wilder’s older brother Johnnie died in his sleep eleven years
earlier, leaving Keith to carry the torch for a band that had already endured
so much tragedy during its earlier history.
The two Wilder brothers and Temperton were the essential
pieces to a group that began in the mid 1970s with a mixed ethnic lineup that
initially included two black Americans from Dayton, Ohio, (the Wilders), a
Czech drummer (Ernest “Bilbo” Berger who was a wizard on those drums, by the
way), a black Briton (rhythm guitarist Roy Carter), a Swiss man (bassist Mario
Mantese), a Jamaican (Eric Johns) and an Englishman (Temperton).
In other words, Heatwave was to the late 1970s what Sly
& the Family Stone was to the earlier part of that decade, except Heatwave
made Sly Stone’s all-American mixed-race/mixed-gender group look almost
homogenous by comparison.
Yet as progressive a band as Heatwave was during its day,
what with its multicultural background and stellar dance/pop sensibilities –
and despite the fact that groups like Average White Band, KC & the Sunshine
Band, and Sly & the Family Stone had already paved the way for mixed-race
funk and disco bands to gain widespread acceptance in the U.S. – Heatwave’s
longtime label, Epic Records (GTO in the U.K.) was reluctant to market the
group by its multiracial identity. In
fact, none of the band’s six album covers bore Heatwave’s images, which instead
were relegated to back covers or insert sleeves.
It was the first of those six albums, however, that
introduced us to Keith Wilder’s gruff soulful tenor, as he kicked off “Boogie
Nights” thusly: “Ain’t no doubt, we are here to party!” And it was with that convincing declaration
that Heatwave started their platinum party train rolling here in America with a
famous trio of singles that each sold between one and two million copies.
“Boogie Nights” just missed the No. 1 spot on the pop singles
chart in late fall ‘77, while “Always and Forever” did the same on the soul
list a few months later – both tunes peaked at No. 2 on those tallies,
respectively. “The Groove Line,” from
their second album, was an even faster climbing single, peaking at No. 3 soul
and No. 7 pop within three months of its April 1978 release.
Heatwave’s first two albums, Too Hot To Handle and Central
Heating – each peppered with memorable deep album cuts to go along with the
successful hit singles – had impressive sales commensurate with that of the
singles. Both albums went platinum in
the U.S., selling a million copies each and peaking in the top five on
Billboard’s R&B charts and Nos. 11 and 10, respectively, on the pop charts.
With all the band’s success in 1977-78, it seemed Heatwave
could do no wrong with radio and on dance floors across America. Their fans were pumped and primed for nearly
anything the funky outfit had to offer and the future certainly looked bright
for one of the genre’s best new ambassadors.
For their part, Heatwave could deliver well-crafted dance-pop tunes and
then flip the script to turn in some of the most beautiful love songs of their
day.
But the group was about to endure a series of tragedies that
put all of their commercial success in a harrowing perspective and which made
their lofty out-of-the-box sales levels tough to sustain, despite their most
valiant of efforts.
First, original bassist Mario Mantese was stabbed by his
girlfriend after attending a party one night in 1978. The near-fatal injuries he sustained (including a lengthy coma,
followed by temporary blindness and paralysis) forced him to leave the band.
Then, while visiting family in Dayton in 1979, lead singer
Johnnie Wilder was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the
neck down. Bound to a wheelchair, the
elder Wilder brother continued recording with the band, although he would be
replaced during concert tours and TV performances by J. D. Nicholas (who was
also Lionel Richie’s replacement in the Commodores a couple of years later).
Johnnie Wilder’s car accident occurred on the heels of the
band’s third album release, 1979’s Hot Property, a less successful (but still
gold-certified) collection that contained a moderate top-30 soul chart entry,
the underrated single “Eyeballin’,” and its quirky follow-up, “One Night Tan,”
an uptempo disco number that missed the charts altogether. (“One Night Tan” was a guilty pleasure of
mine though; it even topped my personal charts in the summer of ‘79.)
While both Wilder brothers remained with Heatwave during the
1980s, other personnel changes would occur as the band’s popularity began to
wane. Changing tastes in music were
partly to blame for the group’s increasing difficulty to reach larger audiences
– particularly the decline of disco and the rise of hip-hop, British pop and
‘80s techno music. This changing
landscape stacked the odds against Heatwave, which wasn’t able to navigate the
changing musical tide as well as other late-‘70s staples like Donna Summer or
Earth, Wind & Fire.
It also didn’t help that the band’s creativity seemed
stifled after their first couple of albums, both musically and
thematically. In keeping with their
name, for instance, all their album’s titles were simple variations on the same
theme… heat: Too Hot to Handle, Central
Heating, Hot Property, Candles, Current, The Fire.
The songs from the later albums didn’t ignite the fire that
earlier efforts did. Their 1982 single
“Lettin’ It Loose,” from the Current album, incorporated elements of rap but
even that seemed contrived against the backdrop of the song’s kiddie-like chorus. The ballad “Look After Love” from that same
album tried but failed to capture the magic that its more evergreen
predecessors “Always and Forever” and “Star Of A Story” had earlier.
Ultimately their 1988 set, The Fire, a nine-track collection
released only in the U.K., would be Heatwave’s last studio album. As a recording act, the group called it
quits shortly afterwards.
But it was Keith Wilder, that one remaining original member,
who kept Heatwave’s fire burning on-and-off for decades as a touring band long
after the hits stopped coming. Despite
his own health setbacks, in a way, he was keeping his big brother’s dream alive
after Johnnie could no longer tour with the band following his paralyzing car
accident and after he died at the age of 56 in 2006.
Now, with his own passing, Keith Wilder joins his brother
Johnnie and their legendary songwriter Rod Temperton in that proverbial
rock-and-roll heaven. They leave behind
a small, but memorable legacy of tunes that some might consider mere timepieces
– songs that are defined more by their era than by any enduring qualities.
Heck, some pundits might even argue that Heatwave was
nothing more than a ‘70s disco/funk band who couldn’t evolve with the changing
musical styles of the 1980s, hence their quick demise.
But for Heatwave fans, nothing could be further from the
truth. For us, “Boogie Nights” and “The
Groove Line” were collectively a partying call-to-arms (along with the funk
classic “Ain’t No Half Steppin’”) that had us shaking our booties wildly for
months, while “Always and Forever” was the love song of a lifetime – one that
helped launch many marriages over the four decades since its release.
For those reasons we will always forever love
Heatwave, and we will miss its co-lead vocalist Keith Wilder.
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