Trending
Two legendary R&B groups will come together to honor local musician and community supporter, Loni Gamble, as The Whispers and Russell Thompkins Jr. and The New Stylistics take the stage at the Journey Bank Community Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.
The tribute was organized by Jaumeal Dickerson and Rodney Anderson, of I&J Productions, both of whom had known and worked with Gamble.
"Lonnie and I had known each other since the late '80s, early '90s. We have a nice bond, a nice friendship," Dickerson explained.
Gamble, who passed away in August 2024, was an accomplished musician, who was taught to play guitar by his bandmate and brother, Gary, and began his musical career as lead guitarist for The Stylistics before branching out into a solo career.
Gamble's solo debut, released in 1983, received two Canadian Dance Music Awards for Best Record and Top Male Vocalist of the year for the title track "Could It Be Love."
Outside of his musical endeavors, Gamble was heavily involved in his second-home of Williamsport.
Gamble founded the Kennedy King Youth Intervention and Development Project and Basketball League, later known as the Community Alliance for Positive Progressive Action (CAPPA), which provided scholastic mentorship, gang prevention tips and computer technology instruction to at-risk youth.
Gamble continued his outreach work with the Young Gentlemen Performing Arts and Life Skills Project, which provided young men with hands-on experiences and opportunities through music and the performing arts, with a goal of motivating and inspiring at-risk youth, who are not emotionally connected to traditional educational environments.
Another project of Gambles' is the Phenomenal Young Ladies project, helping to build self-esteem for all children involved in the CAPPA program.
"He was a pioneer in bringing entertainers to this area, so it goes without saying that Lonnie was just an extraordinary person,"Dickerson said.
"He did a lot in the community. He took it in one direction, and I went in the other direction. But at the same time, we met at the same table on numerous occasions," Dickerson, who was long involved in nonviolent crisis intervention with the Williamsport Area School District, said.
Several of their events were held at the former Bethune-Douglass Community Center, he said.
Gamble's legacy of working to make his community a better place served as the inspiration behind the upcoming tribute.
"It's our time to pay it back to him and thank him for all he's done," Dickerson said.
Dickerson said getting the two vocal groups onboard came together seemlessly.
The Whispers were Rodney's idea at the time, and we reached out to them first, and they responded very well," he explained.
Along with Gamble, Anderson also had ties to The Stylistics by way of working with the group when they had visited town previously.
"That made it a little easier for us to get in contact with them and build up a rapport with them to get them to come here," Dickerson said.
"They were overwhelmed with it because they loved him and the rapport Loni had with those guys was unbelievable," he added.
Dickerson said they have been "blown away" by the response of the community.
"A lot of people can't believe both entertainers will be here at the same time, which is very rare, especially in a small town like this.," he said.
"The fact that we're honoring Lone, we're getting a lot of positive feedback," Dickerson added.
"This gives me an opportunity to once again thank Loni, and let the community know the impact that he had on our community, and it's going to continue," he said, noting that they have plans for further events and have had talks with other groups about visiting the area.
"The pioneer that he is, he set the tone, and we're just going to take it and run with it," Dickerson said.
Calling Gamble "a heck of an entertainer," Dickerson adds that his legacy includes "empowering youth and empowering family members and having a major impact in the community on positive things."
"And he was such a nice guy. He would give his last dollar to help someone. He impacted me as well. I learned a lot working with Loni on various occasions. He impacted a lot of people," he said.
"Whether it's embracing everything that Loni has done or Rodney has done, we're going to continue doing things and trying to bring some excitement to Williamsport," he said.
For more information or to purchase tickets to the Loni Gamble Tribute, please visit www.caclive.com/events/lonigambletribute.