(July 21, 1949 - November 27, 2020) Member of disco ensemble
The Ritchie Family, During the 1960s, she was a member of the group
Honey And The Bees who had a hit with It's Gonna take a Miracle in 1971. In 1974, she contributed backing vocals to
William DeVaughn's album,
[m=161304]. In 1975, along with
Cassandra Wooten and
Cheryl Mason Jacks, she became a member of The Ritchie Family who had the classic disco hit, [m=117704]. In 1978, Wooten, Jacks and Oliver were fired without warning and a new line up was brought in.
In the 2010s the Ritchie Family was reformed with original members Wooten and Jacks being joined by
Renee Guillory-Wearing. In 2016, the group had a top 40 hit on the Billboard dance chart with
Ice. The Ritchie Family Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/orignalritchiefamily/) has pictures of her with Wooten, Mason-Dorman and Guillory-Wearing. One photo shows the four of them on stage suggesting she may have joined them to sing.
She was married to trombonist
Fred Wesley. In her later years, having left music, she lived life as a committed Christian, she was active in her church, involved in Bible study.
Gwen Wesley died on November 27, 2020 at age 71.