Charlie Wilson is an iconic American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being nominated for a staggering thirteen Grammy Awards, including for his songs If I Believe, You Are and There Goes My Baby, as well as for his role The Gap Band.
Hailing from Oklahoma, Wilson found his talent for music in his youth, when he and his brothers often sang in church and in their school’s choir. Wilson began his career alongside brothers Robert and Ronnie, forming The Gap Band. The band retired in 2010 after releasing an impressive fifteen albums, including Ain’t Nothing But a Party and Round Trip, which feature some of the most sampled songs in history.
As a soloist, Wilson released his debut album, Bridging the Gap, in 2002; this featured single Without You, which earnt him the number one spot on the Billboard Urban Adult Contemporary chart. In total, Wilson has released nine solo albums, earned countless number ones and chart hits, and has been honoured with thirteen Grammy Nominations, including Best R&B Album for Uncle Charlie, Best Rap Song alongside Kanye West for Bound 2, and most recently for Best Traditional R&B Performance for Made For Love in 2018. Wilson has worked alongside Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, will.i.am and Kanye West, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Kid Cudi, among countless others.
In January 2021, Billboard named Wilson’s Forever Valentine as one of its 10 Best R&B Songs of 2020. Billboard has previously recognised Wilson in 2009 as its Number One Adult R&B Artist and named There Goes My Baby as its Number One Urban Adult Song for the year. Wilson has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by BET and is the national spokesperson for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He continues to record and produce music, and in 2020 celebrated his latest release; the single, called All of My Love, features Smokey Robinson and has amassed four million views on its official YouTube video within months of its release. Wilson is active on social media, where he engages with his one million followers across his numerous accounts.
