AL WILSONAl Wilson, who died on 21 April, 2008, aged 68, was an R&B and soul singer, best known in the States for his number one single, Show and Tell, and in the UK for the earlier hit, The Snake.
He made a total of five albums over the course of a 13-year recording career before becoming a successful touring musician playing at some of America’s most prestigious venues to wide acclaim.
The Snake was his only success in the UK, but the up-tempo tale of reptilian seduction was an enduring favourite of theNorthern Soul scene and had recently been revived, thanks to an advert for Lambrini.
Al Wilson was born on 19 June, 1939, in the city of Meridian in east Mississippi. From an early age it was clear his future lay in performing – he showed little interest in education but performed in school plays and sung in talent shows. He also won first prize in a local art contest.
By 12 he was singing in country and gospel outfits, having graduated from the church choir. Mr Wilson himself attributed his success to his early musical teachings in the church: "Our preacher never had any formal music training, but when he laid down a beat and established the root bass, it was a thrill. No singer could miss."
As a teenager he moved to California where he could find more work to help support his family, although he had to take several menial jobs to make ends meet. He then toured the southern states for four years as drummer with a rock ’n’ roll group called Johnny Harris and the Statesmen.
He served with the US Navy for two years before returning to California. He performed on the cabaret and club circuit and then sang with a string of rhythm and blues vocal groups.
His break came in 1966 shortly after signing with manager Marc Gordon. Gordon landed him an audition with Johnny Rivers, the rock ’n’ roll singer, best known for taking Secret Agent Man to number three in the charts that year.
Rivers signed Mr Wilson to his Soul City Records label and produced his first two singles, The Snake and Do What You Gotta Do. The Snake charted in both the R&B and pop charts in America and was subsequently picked up by British DJs on the lookout for obscure cuts from the States.
His debut album, Searching for the Dolphins, was released by Soul City in 1968 but failed to chart. The following year he released a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Lodi but then slipped into obscurity for several years.
He returned in 1973 with the album Weighing In on Bell/Rocky Road records and the single Show and Tell, released the following year, reached the pinnacle of the pop charts, affirming its place as a soul classic. In the wake of its success, Weighing In went platinum.
Over the course of the ’70s he recorded three more albums, La La (Peace Song) (1974), I’ve Got a Feeling (1976) and Count the Days (1979) and had R&B chart hits with Baby I Want Your Body and I've Got a Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again) (both 1976).
For the remainder of his career he concentrated on performing, with a varied catalogue of material and an energetic stage presence that earned him rave reviews. "If you do a thing well, whether it’s soul, blues or rock, you can reach people of different tastes and please them all," he said.
In 2001 he re-recorded many of his best known records for the album Spice of Life and a greatest hits package, Show and Tell, was released in 2004. In 2007 many of his original master tapes were lost to a fire at his home recording studio in San Bernardino, California. He died in hospital in Fontana and was survived by his wife Patricia, a son and two daughters.
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