Jim Gilstrap, the legendary session vocalist whose voice graced Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and the iconic theme song to the 1970s sitcom “Good Times,” has died at 79. His nephew, Geoffrey Gilstrap, confirmed the singer passed away from natural causes on Saturday, July 18, in Los Angeles. The exact cause of death was not released.
Gilstrap’s career spanned more than five decades, earning him a reputation as one of the most versatile and in-demand session vocalists in music history. He was a featured vocalist with Stevie Wonder’s backing group Wonderlove and sang the opening lines of the Grammy-winning hit “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” from Wonder’s 1972 album Talking Book. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Beyond his work with Wonder, Gilstrap lent his voice to countless legends, including Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Dolly Parton, and Bill Withers. He also achieved solo success in 1975 with “Swing Your Daddy,” which reached No. 4 on the U.K. Singles Chart and cracked the U.S. R&B Top 10. He released two solo albums, Swing Your Daddy and Love Talk.
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