![Keith Wilder, Co-Founder of Heatwave, Dead at 68](https://www.okayplayer.com/media-library/keith-wilder-co-founder-of-heatwave-dead-at-68.png?id=33182261&width=1200&height=800&quality=90&coordinates=0%2C33%2C0%2C34)
Keith Wilder, Co-Founder of Heatwave, Dead at 68
Source: Instagram
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Register
The content is free, but you must be subscribed to Okayplayer to continue reading.
THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING
Join our newsletter family to stay tapped into the latest in Hip Hop culture!
Login
To continue reading login to your account.
Forgot your password?
Please enter the email address you use for your account so we can send you a link to reset your password:
Source: Instagram
According to multiple reports (DC's Majic 102.3 and a Questlove Instagram send-up) Heatwave's Keith Wilder has passed. The singer was 68 years old.
Together with his late brother, Johnnie Wilder Jr. and legendary English producer, Rod Temperton, Wilder forged the foundational funk and disco outfit of both stateside players and cross-pond cadets in 1975, recording six studio albums between 1975 and 1988, though their final album, The Fire, was recorded without Wilder's brother, who was rendered paralyzed from the neck down following a tragic 1979 car accident.
The intercontinental crew was responsible for a grip of era-defining hits and classic sample fodder for the subsequent generation of hip-hop producers, including "Boogie Nights," "Ain't No Half-Steppin'," "The Groove Line" and the timeless ballad "Always and Forever." After his brother's paralysis, Wilder and the band would continue to tour and record, before officially disbanding at the end of the 80s. In their few reunion tours since, Wilder served as the only original member of the band to grace the stage.
In his post, Questlove noted that every stunning lead of that vocals-first disco era had a meatier, sturdier voice in the arrangement as a backbone. Keith Wilder was that for his brother and the era.