Soul singer Al Wilson has died from kidney failure at the age of 68. His son, Tony Wilson, confirmed that he passed away on Monday at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Centre in Fontana, California.
Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi (don't wish to be flippant about death, but yes, just like Paul Davis in the previous obit, which is an interesting coincidence) and began singing from an early age with his local church choir, as well as forming his own 'spiritual' quartet. His first professional engagement was touring with Johnny 'Legs' Harris and the Statesmen, but following that he enlisted with the US Navy. After two years in the military, he moved to LA and played with The Jewels and their subsequent group The Rollers. Spotted by manager Marc Gordon in 1966, he was signed to Johnny Rivers' Soul City label and released a first hit single in 1968, 'The Snake' - which, incidentally, has lately been featured on a Lambrini advert in the UK. Subsequent hits included 'Do What You Gotta Do', 'Show And Tell' and and "I've Got a Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again)".
His son, the aforementioned Tony Wilson says: "He was always singing. He would call me in the middle of the night with a new song that he had written."
Wilson is survived by his wife, Patricia, his son, two daughters and thirteen grandchildren.