Al Wilson - Willoughby Brook Road (1974)

Best remembered for the soul classic "Show and Tell," singer Al Wilson was born June 19, 1939 in Meridian, Mississippi. From childhood forward he was singing professionally, and by the age of 12 was leading his own spiritual quartet and singing in the church choir, even performing covers of country and western hits as circumstances dictated. While he was in high school, Wilson and his family relocated to San Bernadino, California, where he worked odd 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. 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 scored his client an a cappella audition for Johnny Rivers — the "Secret Agent Man" singer not only signed Wilson to his Soul City imprint, but also agreed to produce the sessions that yielded the 1968 R&B smash "The Snake." The minor hit "Do What You Gotta Do" appeared that same year, but Wilson then largely disappeared from sight until 1973, when he issued the platinum-selling Weighing In — the album's success was spurred by the shimmering "Show and Tell," a Johnny Mathis castoff that sold well over a million copies. 1974's "The La La Peace Song" proved another major hit, and two years later, "I've Got a Feeling We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again" cracked the R&B Top Three. With 1979's "Count the Days" Wilson scored his final chart hit, however, and he spent the next two decades touring clubs and lounges; in 2001 he re-recorded his classic hits for the album Spice of Life.

Albums
· 1968: Searching for the Dolphins (Soul City)
· 1973: Weighing In (Bell/Rocky Road) - US #70, R&B #9
· 1974: La La Peace Song (Bell/Rocky Road) - US #171, R&B #35
· 1976: I've Got a Feeling (Playboy) - US #185, R&B #43
· 1979: Count the Days (RCA)
· 2004: Show & Tell: The Best of Al Wilson (Fuel)
Singles
· 1968: "The Snake" - US #27, R&B #32
· 1969: "Lodi" - US #67
· 1969: "Poor Side of Town" - US #75
· 1974: "Show and Tell" - US #1, R&B #10
· 1974: "Touch And Go" - US #57, R&B #23
· 1974: "La La Peace Song" - US #30, R&B #19
· 1975: "I Won't Last A Day Without You/Let Me Be The One" - US #70, R&B #18
· 1976: "Baby I Want Your Body" - R&B #3
· 1976: "I've Got A Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again)" - US #29, R&B #3

Related artists: Percy Sledge, James Brown, Bobby Womack, Eddie Kendricks, Aretha Franklin, Ann Peebles, Johnnie Taylor, Marvin Gaye, Rufus Thomas, Donny Hathaway, Tyrone Davis, Arthur Conley, Wilson Pickett, Curtis Mayfield, Teddy Pendergrass, Sam & Dave, Jackie Wilson, Isley Brothers, Harold Melvin, Babyface, Peabo Bryson, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Anthony Hamilton, Ben E. King, Ben King
Related words: Memories reminisces bethink, call up, cite, hark back, look back, mind, recall, recollect, remember, remind, retain, retrospect, review, revive, think back, funky, hoarse, raspy voices

Lyrics below:

Verse 1: born and raised on country ways and nursed by the verse of the good book, I grew up on the outskirts of Louisiana in a place called the Willoughby Brook. Sisters and brothers, uncles and cousins—we all lived in the same town. We were clothes that the neighbors gave us—second-hand shoes and hand-me downs.

Chorus: But I wish I could go back home and take a second look at Willoughby Brook. Lord I wish I could turn the page to my days at Willoughby Brook

Verse 2: I still laugh about the day my brother got caught trying to play hooky from school and mama made a switch from an old willow tree and whipped him like he stole a government mule. I can still see papa playing checkers and dominoes, mama wore her head rag in the kitchen, and grandma was down in the churchyard singing "Give Me That Old Time Religion".

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Verse 3: Buttermilk and cornbread, potato pie, papa's homemade wine, kick-the-can and hide and seek, let me see yours—I'll let you see mine. Now I look around at the city I live in with its ghettoes and its crowded neighborhoods, friendship and brotherhood's a thing of the past and understanding is all misunderstood. The raising of the prices, the world's in a crisis—you can't buy the food you need. You can't trust politics—a shame on the government and choking on the air you breathe.

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