"UNCLE" CHARLIE WILSON SPEAKING ON ESSENCE FEST 2012, HIS MANY HATS, AND HIS NEXT ALBUM (1601 hits)
By Keith Spera July 6, 2012
After three years on the Essence Fest undercard, Charlie Wilson was promoted to the main event this year. He closes out the main stage in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Friday, July 6, the opening night of the 2012 Essence Music Festival.
Wilson is both old- and new-school. As the lead singer, keyboardist and songwriter for the Gap Band, he stamped his signature vocals on such dancefloor standards as "You Dropped the Bomb on Me," "Party Train" and "Burn Rubber." The Gap Band eventually ran out of steam, thanks in large part to a disastrous business arrangement and its members' extreme substance abuse.
After getting sober in the mid-1990s, Wilson and his new manager reestablished the Gap Band. Wilson then embarked on a solo career that has thus far notched a string of Adult Urban Contemporary hits, including "There Goes My Baby" -- featuring his friend and fan Snoop Dogg -- and "You Are," a modern-day wedding classic.
His uptempo sets mix up Gap Band and solo standards. On the eve of Essence, Wilson sat down with me to chat about his big gig, the essential songs in his set list, his work on behalf of prostate cancer awareness, his new line of hats, and the "bedroom album" he's been working on.
