THE HIT HAMMER: Al Wilson's "Show & Tell"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)

Al Wilson - "Show & Tell"

Hit Number 1: January 19, 1974

Stay at Number 1: 1 Week

"Show & Tell" is a song about baring your soul to show how much you love someone. It's a song that doesn't have a whole lot of history tied to it, but it was originally written by Jerry Fuller, and recorded by singer Johnny Mathis. (Mathis will eventually appear in this blog) Apparently his version was released as a single, but it was a severe flop. It wasn't until a pretty obscure soul singer named Al Wilson covered it that "Show & Tell" became a hit. It eventually topped the charts in January 1974, giving Wilson a brief, but still nice moment in the spotlight.

Wilson wasn't a singer that completely came out of left field. In the early '60s, he was a singer with the group the Rollers. The Rollers weren't a famous band, but they were still well-known enough that when Wilson went solo, people still recognized his voice on his solo records and bought his music. His first solo hit was "The Snake", a song written by civil-rights activist Oscar Brown. Wilson was able to take Brown's song to #27 on the Hot 100. (It's a 5) Though the song is bland to me, "The Snake" was the big break Wilson needed. His voice in my opinion sounds a lot like Lou Rawls, and he'd continue to linger around the charts with that Rawls-esque voice before his version of "Show & Tell" blew up. (For what it's worth, Rawls' highest-charting single, 1976's "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" peaked at #2. It's a 9)

Wilson's version of "Show & Tell" sounds very jazz-loungy to me. There's no excitement or energy on the track, just a silenced piano riff and horn section. The key to "Show & Tell" is all in the vocal performance, and Wilson is up to the task on the song. He does what he can on the song, bringing a nice touch of smooth soul to it, but "Show & Tell" is pretty forgettable. It's very reminiscent of Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones", which is a soft, unintimidating jazz lounge song that sails right past me. The two songs even have a backing female choir on them, it's almost scary how much the two songs have in common. It's enjoyable and is all in all a very well put together piece of music, but this type of stuff isn't for me. Great voice though, Mr. Wilson.

GRADE: 6/10