Singer Al Wilson Is Dead

Soul singer Al Wilson has succumbed to kidney failure and died at a hospital near Los Angeles at age 68.Al Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi on June 19, 1939. He was one of those people who was born to sing. Wilson performed from a very early age singing in the church choir, and at 12 led his own spiritual quartet. Along with gospel, Wilson would cover country songs.

During high school, Wilson’s family moved to San Bernadino where he worked many odd jobs, but kept singing and taught himself to play the drums. After graduating, Al Wilson went on to tour with Johnny Harris and the Statesmen. That came to an end four years later when Al enlisted in the Navy. His Navy career lasted two years and then Wilson began hitting the club scene. He performed with several bands before his manager, Marc Gordon, got him an audition with Johnny Rivers. This audition spawned a few hits, but it wasn’t until 1973, and the release of the platinum-selling album ‘Weighing In,’ that made Al Wilson a household name with his hit “Show and Tell.” It sold over a million copies.

Al Wilson’s discography consists of five albums: ‘Searching for the Dolphins,’ ‘Weighing In,’ ‘La La Peace Song,’ ‘I’ve Got a Feeling,’ ‘Count the Days,’ and ‘Show & Tell: The Best of Al Wilson.’ His most famous singles from that group are ‘Show and Tell,’ ‘The Snake,’ and ‘Baby I Want Your Body.’