Song:You Are
Album:Playlist: The Very Best Of Charlie Wilson
I have been a huge Charlie Wilson fan going back to the 70s when he was lead singer of funk pioneers The Gap Band. So it's gratifying to see his recent career revival mostly the result of respect from rappers like Snoop Dogg. He was born Jan. 29, 1953 in Tulsa and like all great soul singers, he grew up singing in church. Of course he was very successful in the 70s as lead singer of The Gap Band with his brothers Robert Wilson and Ronnie Wilson. After The Gap Band faded in the late 80s, Wilson released the 1992 CD You Turn My Life Around produced by the team of Buster & Shavoni. The album did OK but Wilson was having drug problems and ultimately wound up homeless. He entered rehab in 1995 and met his wife Mahin. She was his rehab counselor. He worked as a drug counselor for a while before getting back into music with the 2000 CD Bridging The Gap. This led to a deal with Jive Records and the 2005 album Charlie, Last Name Wilson. His biggest booster at the time was rapper Snoop Dogg. They have worked together on albums by both guys. You Are is from the 2010 album Just Charlie. If you listen to it closely, it's basically a gospel song. And like most of Wilson's singles, it has done very well in the Urban Adult Contemporary market. Wilson wrote and produced most of Just Charlie with producer Wirlie Morris who produced R & B singer Lloyd. Wilson's latest CD Love, Charlie was released Jan. 2013 and he is working on new music. This budget comp is a good intro to Wilson's music. Wilson received a BET Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 and is currently a spokesman for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. After all these years, it's great to see Charlie Wilson get the respect he deserves especially in a business that usually serves youth. Here's the video for You Are by Charlie Wilson.
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