Al Wilson ~ Show And Tell 1973 Soul Purrfection Version

Al Wilson was born June 19, 1939 in Meridian, Mississippi and displayed an interest in music from a young age, singing in church choirs and forming a quartet where he sang spirituals and country western songs.

It was not until he joined the Navy that he realized he wanted to be a professional singer. He performed with an on base vocal group until he was honorably discharged in 1958 then worked as a mail carrier, dishwasher and a janitor to support himself. He moved to San Bernardino and joined the Jewels who then changed their name to The Rollers and had a #80 hit with "The Continental Walk" in 1961.

He left that group the following year and worked as a session drummer until 1966 when he met Marc Gordon, manager of the the Fifth Dimension who set up an audition to join Johnny Rivers' Soul City label. Al had his first bona fide hit single with "The Snake", a #27 pop hit which has become a Northern Soul Classic.

There was not much interest in Wilson's subsequent releases and he floundered until he met writer/producer Jerry Fuller. Fuller came to see Al during his gig in Chino, California and was impressed by his stage presence.

Fuller set up a meeting with Wilson for the following Friday and brought a song he had written for him called "Show And Tell", playing it on his guitar for Al. Wilson liked what he heard so Jerry also handed over a copy of the song he had already recorded with Johnny Mathis to give Al an idea of what the song could be, but Al decided to not be influenced by Mathis and declined to listen to it until after he recorded it. Johnny's version was released on his "Killing Me Softly With Her Song" LP of 1973. You can listen to it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjod71IU65Y

The results were phenomenal, the crystal clear production highlighted Al's voice and the playful lyrics referencing the child's game. It entered the chart at #96 but was at #1 thirteen weeks later giving the Rocky Road label its one and only #1 hit. The following year, Al released "La La Peace Song" and it heated up a cover war as OC Smith had also released his version, but Al won out by peaking at #30. The Rocky Road label folded shortly after that and Al was signed to Playboy Records for "I've Got A Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again)" a #29 pop hit, but a #3 R&B hit in 1976.

1979 saw him try his hand at disco soul with "Count The Days" but the album did not produce any hits. In 2001 he re-recorded his classic hits for "Spice Of Life" that did not chart. Al Wilson died of kidney failure on April 21, 2008.

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