Well I had not heard, and it totally caught me off guard. I just listened to his album the other day I have it programmed into my computer to play in the background while I write.
I am not prepared for Gil to not be here - I am not prepared to not be able to get on his case for not taking better care of himself. He had just started to pick up weight after having gotten down to skin and bones - literally.! Not that he ever had that much weight to begin with. So if he lost an ounce, you noticed it.
I've known Gil since our days at Lincoln University. Before he started the Midnight Band, with Byron Jackson and Ade Knowles (a/k/a Adenola) and dropped out of school to start his group. I and a few of his other LU comrades told him, in our vaunted infinite wisdom (NOT) that he couldn't sing, and the best thing he could do was to graduate and get a good gig. Thank goodness he didn't to us. We called him Spyder because he was so gangly and skinny - gaunt. He had that wry sense of humor and turn of phrase that is the hallmark of his lyrics. He was totally a revolutionary - ahead of and leading the times.
My family (my daughters, son, and former hubby) held Gil in such high esteem. In fact there were several times when they performed together. Even though we only saw each other on tour, or when he was at The Blue Note or S.O.B's - a favorite haunt of his, and we weren't in and out of each other's homes - the way we used to be Black in the day - there was so much love there for that brother. And to me, Gil was very much a brother.
He has endured a lot. For all that he tried to impart to us, the people he loved, we, the sons and daughters of Africa, he suffered many demons. But he appeared to be coming through that dark period. I was truly hoping that his tenacity of spirit, modern medicine and God, would pull him through this health challenge. He has been through so much, he has given so much to the world; had so much more to give. But the Infinite has His own perspective, and has decided to bring Gil and his revolution closer to him.
His works have inspired us his contemporaries, and those who have come behind us, and I daresay will inspire generations to come. Gil was truly a Griot. He as a spirit in the most intense sense of the word.
My condolences to his family; my condolences to us, his classmates, who knew, love, treasure, and appreciate him - no past tense here, because our love for Gil is ongoing and never ending - we will be telling Spyderman Stories for a long time to come.
Farewell to my dear Brother Gil: May you always rest in peace - try not to stir up too much of a revolution up there. I know that's where you are. you earned those wings a long time ago for the service and inspiration you gave to us all..
.Luv2u Gil
STAY BLESSED &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
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