Words by Megan Ambers


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Keith Wilder, the lead singer of the 70s funk band Heatwave had died. He was 65.

Well known for hits such as, “Always and Forever” and “Boogie Nights,” Wilder passed away in his sleep on Sunday (October 29), said his cousin and bandmate Bill Jones. “I am at a loss for words,” said Jones. “We are going to miss his voice, he had a great voice, but we can always put on a record and hear it.” Les Spaine, the group’s manager later confirmed his death to Rolling Stone.

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Heatwave released their debut album in 1976, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard charts. The band released two more albums Central Heating and Hot Property in the late 70s, before bandmate and brother Johnnie Wilder was in a near fatal car accident, that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He passed away in 2006. Keyboardist and songwriter Rod Temperton, who died in 2016, went on to write music for both Michael Jackson and Patti Austin.

The Roots drummer Questlove paid a tribute to the late singer on his Instagram. He wrote, “Keith sang on A LOT of my fav Heatwave joints (‘Boogie Nights,’ ‘Groove Line,’ ‘One night Tan,’ & the dramatic epic ‘Therm Warfare’) he was the gruff voiced counterpart to his younger brother’s velvet smoothness. Edwards to Kendricks, Jermaine to Michael, Gorrie to Stuart, White to Bailey, Levert to Williams practically EVERY monster soul group gave you more than one vocalist to focus on.”

The Holy #Heatwave trinity comes to a sad close. In 1980 the (sun?) #JohnnieWilder the bright falsetto light (and harmony monster) was in a horrific motorcycle accident which rendered him paralyzed & down for the count from being in the group full time. He fought the good fight but passed away back in 2006. The Spirit of the band was mastermind #RodTemperton whose work with Heateave prompted Quincy Jones to hire him to in hopes of passing MJ some of that magic: enter #OffTheWall #RockWithYou #Thriller #BabyBeMine #BurnThisDiscoOut & #TheLadyInMyLife… not to mention #YahMoBeThere #SweetFreedom #GiveMeTheNight #BabyComeToMe @Oprah’s Theme (that clip of Carlton jamming to it on #FPOBA still cracks me up) & Anita Baker’s killer #Mystery on her Rapture album (let’s not forget his own band’s #TheGrooveLine #BoogieNights #StarOfTheStory #AintNoHalfSteppin & of course #AlwaysAndForever the best love song ever that allowed Johnnie the space to flex and show off his adlibs that remain w us to this day) Sadly til now the father #KeithWilder was holding down the fort. Actively holding the legacy torch of the band he founded w his late brother. Johnnie was a MONSTER singer whose harmony game is unmatched. No REAL singer worth their grain of salt NEVER denied his mastery. Temperton was the god not just writing “hits” (hits doesn’t always equal “quality”) he created beautiful art (even as cheesy as Thriller was supposed to be, he navigated it carefully and truly landed it as a historical landmark of a song. Damn near making MJ the Halloween king (peep Off The Wall’s intro which also attempted that challenge 3 yrs earlier). Keith sang on ALOT of my fav Heatwave joints (Boogie Nights, Groove Line, One Night Tan, & the dramatic epic Therm Warfare) he was the gruff voiced counterpart to his younger brother’s velvet smoothness. Edwards to Kendricks, Jermaine to Michael, Gorrie to Stuart, White to Bailey, Levert to Williams practically EVERY monster soul group gave you more than one vocalist to focus on. Shame that all 6 of their albums aren’t available to listen to (aye @Sony where the hell js #HotProperty!?) let’s keep his light alive & celebrate his art. rip Keith Wilder!

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The singer has been suffering from health issues at the time of his death. The funeral is planned for Mo