Al Wilson

Allen LaMar Wilson (June 19, 1939 – April 21, 2008) was an American soul singer known for the million-selling number one hit "Show and Tell". He is also remembered for his Northern soul anthem, "The Snake".

Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Attending Kate Griffin Elementary, he showed little interest in education but performed in school plays, sang in talent shows and won first prize in a local art contest.

He began his career at the age of twelve leading his own spiritual quartet and singing in the church choir and performing covers of country and western hits. While he was in high school, Wilson and his family relocated to San Bernardino, California, where he worked three jobs as a mail carrier, a janitor, and an office clerk, in addition to teaching himself to play drums. After graduation he spent four years touring with Johnny Harris and the Statesmen, before joining the U.S. Navy and singing with an enlisted men's chorus. He also developed his stand-up comedy routine in case he did not succeed as a singer, and performed at some local clubs.

After a two-year military stint, Wilson settled in Los Angeles, touring the local nightclub circuit before joining the R&B vocal group the Jewels; from there he landed with the Rollers, followed by a stint with the instrumental combo the Souls. In 1966, Wilson signed with manager Marc Gordon, who quickly sought his client an a cappella audition for Johnny Rivers. Wilson was signed to the Soul City imprint and Rivers produced the sessions that yielded the 1968 U.S. R&B hit single "The Snake" (U.S. Pop number 27), which became popular on the Northern soul circuit in the United Kingdom. It also provided Wilson with his only UK Singles Chart hit, reaching number 41 in 1975. The minor hit "Do What You Gotta Do" appeared that same year. In 1969, Wilson charted with his cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lodi" (U.S. number 67), and Rivers' own "Poor Side Of Town" (U.S. number 75).

Wilson disappeared from the music industry until 1973, when he released his major hit, "Show And Tell", written and produced by Jerry Fuller, the man behind the run of hit singles by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap in the late 1960s. Topping the Hot 100, the song on the Rocky Road label, owned by his manager, Marc Gordon, also reached number 10 in the Billboard R&B chart. The resulting album's success was matched by the single, which sold well over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in December 1973.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.