Born Jan. 10, 1930 died  Jan. 30, 1994 Gipson played with many music legends in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. He began writing and recording songs for Specialty Records in Los Angeles as Slick Gipson and the Sliders. In 1955, he toured with Little Richard as road manager, bodyguard and sometimes guitar player. He wrote such songs as, “Baby, Please Come Home, “Keep Knocking,” “O’ My Soul,” and “Uncle John,” which he based on Little Richard himself, according to an article that appeared in the Journal Star in 1989. In 1960, Gipson made his way to Peoria. He signed with Chess Records in 1963, but the songs he recorded were never released. By 1967, after returning to school to learn how to read and write music, Gipson started his career as a one-man band, performing often in the Peoria area. Gipson, who in a 1991 interview said he took the name “Wild Child” as a gag to draw people to his music, led local funk groups like the Funk Machine, Wild Child Gipson and His Soul Merchants, and the Violators. He played at Harold’s Club, Tony’s Fairway and the Candy Cane, all in Peoria, and the College Inn in Bloomington. He last performed at the Judge’s Chambers, Olde Parkway Inn and the Alligator Grill and Lounge. He was nominated to the Musicians Hall of Fame. He was a board member of Musicians Locals 26, 10 and 137 and a member of the River City Blues Society.