Reuben Wilson

Jazz organist Reuben Wilson - born in Mounds, Oklahoma on April 9, 1935 – was best known for his song “Got to Get Your Own” and for his influence on the acid jazz movement. Born in Oklahoma, his family relocated to Pasadena, California when he was five years old. He taught himself to play piano and by the time he was 17, he had settled in Los Angeles and began to pursue music as a career. Switching from piano to electric organ, he began playing jazz clubs in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Nevada. Moving to New York in 1966, Reuben Wilson formed soul jazz trio The Wildare Express and became a respected live act on the East Coast. Discovered by Blue Note Records, he signed a solo deal with the label and released a series of albums including On Broadway featuring Trevor Lawrence (1968), Love Bug featuring Grant Green, Lee Morgan, and George Coleman (1969), Blue Mode featuring Melvin Sparks (1970), A Groovy Situation featuring Earl Turbinton (1970), and Set Us Free featuring Jerome Richardson, David Spinozza, and Richard Davis (1971). In 1970, he released an album entitled Walk On By which featured late 1960s recordings from his trio The Wildare Express. Signing with the Groove Merchant label, Reuben Wilson released the albums The Sweet Life (1972) and The Cisco Kid (1973). After the release of his 1975 album Got to Get Your Own, he faded out of the spotlight although he continued to perform on sessions with artists such as Willie Jackson, George Benson, and The Fatback Band. His music was rediscovered by in the 1990s when he was sampled by hip hop artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, US3, Brand New Heavies and others. With a resurgence of interest in his music, he recorded a series of albums including Organ Donor (1997), Down With It (1998), Organ Blues (2002), Boogaloo to the Beastie Boys (2004), Fun House (2004), Movin’ On (2006), and Revisited (2011). Reuben Wilson also joined The Godfathers of Groove and appeared on four of their albums between 2001 and 2009. He died from lung cancer on May 26, 2023, at the age of 88.

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