QLS Classic: Charlie Wilson

Of course.

Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.

Yo Yo Yo. What's up, y'all?

This is Fonte Fontigelo here with this week's QLs classic.

This week we talked to the.

Man, Uncle Charlie, the Legend Charlie Wilson, singer, songwriter, lead vocalist for the Gap Band. Uncle Charlie Wilson talks about signing the snoop, showing Michael Jackson the moonwalk in other ways, his work has influenced.

Music and pop culture with the shop do We Do We Let's Go.

This one was originally released seven nineteen, This week July nineteenth, twenty seventeen.

Long time ago, but still just as good. Charlie Wilson. Y'all, q LES Classic Fonte Loo Right.

This Suprema Suh suh, Supremo roll called Suprema suck Suck Supremo role.

What's the funkiest letter? Yeah a B yeah see her d Yeah, No, no, it's Supremo roll.

My name is Fante. Yeah, it ain't no other. Yeah. I'm looking for my Wednesday lover.

Supremo roll, Supremo.

My name is Sugar. I don't take no crap. I listened to the Gap band and I shop at the.

Gap Agreement Supremo.

If you were wondering what was that sound, It's just Boss Bill Yeah, humping around so so disgusting.

Oh, Suprema Son Son Supremo Rome.

Yeah, and I'm coming out.

Yeah.

Uncle Charlie makes me. Why shout.

So Supremo. Roll call Suprema Son Son Supremo.

Roll My name is Charlie, Yeah, last name Wilson. Yeah, that's no other. Yeah, let's burn some anb.

Son Son Supremo. Roll call Suprema Son Son Supremo. Roll Call Suprema.

Son Son Supremo. Roll Call Suprema Son Son Supremo.

Roll all right. I just want you'll know from the top that l threatened us if we use weed and in our roll call, Ladies and gentlemen, this is another special educational extravaganza episode of Quest Love Supreme. I am your host Quest Love Jenkins uh and today I got Team Supreme with me. We got a Fonte Cool Calculac Evans, a Fonticicelo in the house.

We have the mic Master Steve Funk you up. Frasier aka Sugar Steve Hey sugar Steve. That's right, That's that's you.

Now, I'll take it.

We can't forget a boss man over here. He's a William Knuckles, Samwich Carter AKA, and last but not least, we got the very lovely like Margaret AKA Clyde.

Rounding out the team.

Are our guest today, I will say, is simply without peer, Ladies and gentlemen, Uh, no words will really ever describe uh, the magic that exhumes from this man's voice anytime he sings.

He's Uh.

He's basically the six star General of vocalization of his generation of A.

Yeah, yeah he is.

You know, he's literally inspired and you know he has R and B children all over the map, on and off the books. You name them from Aaron Hall, r Kelly, Wynie Marsh the Boys to men genu Wine uh h town, Yes, just name them literally, Uh, these are his children. He's the one time member of one of the baddest funk bands ever of the seventies and the eighties, the Gap Band.

Uh.

He's still criminally under praised. Uh, still operating now better than ever. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the greatest Charlie Uncle Charlie Wilson.

Wow, man, I've.

Been waiting for this moment. I don't know if it feels like every episode. Of course, he was gonna start with, I've been waiting for this moment, Yo, not for real, I mean, but thank thank you for coming on the show. I'm going to ask you the one question I'm certain that you've been tired of answering your whole career, which is, how in the world is Tulsa, Oklahoma home to one of the funkiest people of all time.

I grew up That's where I was born, in Oklahoma City, and I think, oh, I thought it was Tulsa. It was Oklahoma City, which is eighty miles away. My mom. We were just over visiting my grandmother, her mom, and then I just she just actually just delivered right there in Oklahoma City and we ended up going back to the next day. You just cleaned it off, yeah, man, So, I mean I went to school and Tulsa, Oklahoma from from kindergarten all the way and to high school and

How well the history that I know of Oklahoma, especially the history of black people in Oklahoma from the Black Wall Street period to even now, Like Oklahoma is one of the states that I don't necessarily think of black folk.

Being in.

I mean, maybe I'm ignorant of that fact, but I mean, was there a high black population even despite the clan presence of the Jim Crow area? And was there a high presence of that? Like how did you even manage to?

Oh? We had? Was the N word was used quite easily there. I was growing up little boy. You couldn't go in I remember this, running into Woolworths. We pulled up on the side and I just opened up the door because the milksheck stand was like you know, the ice cream stand, which you could see it through the room the door. So I just jumped out and ran before we can get out, and they was like, don't go in that door because we had our own interest. He's supposed to go in the negro entrance. And so

And that environment was was always chose you.

That and oh yeah, you had your own interests and and and and you had your own uh you know, water fountains to drink out of the water would barely come out. And the white fountains, the water was like a crispin cleans clean, just like a waterfall. Jump it. So I would just I would. If this one didn't come out of go to that one. My mom would always grab my hand and snatch me away from it. But I didn't get read. I was little. I just was you know, this one didn't work, souse. I went

Huh the rentals wrapped the Yes, yeah, they we had a that's weird.

So we're now learning that all masters of the Soul Empire had their corporation the last one. When growing up, my dad would be standing in water like three feet but we.

Could use it to get away from it. My mom would not leave the house. Go ahead, I'm not going. I'm not going to stand in no water. She was pretty uh, very outspoken, but she wouldn't do it.

Were you guys? Was it a musical household?

Musical? Yeah? My mom played piano and she taught us all how to play everything. So you actually play, you play panels? Well, yeah, the first thing I learned was that, of course, you know drums in church, so.

You're your mean weapon always was piano drums or okay. So as far as like it's it's just you and your three brothers in the household, did you have more.

Siblings, have a sister? She was that too. It's four of us, okay all together?

So what was the at least the band environment in your high school or your your your school period?

What was what was that into man and band we were? You know? Of course, my oldest brother went first. He was through all of the schools first, and it was my sister to follow him through all of the schools. The brother ron Correct Ronnie was there, and then my sister Loretta was second, then I was third, you know, so that already set presence of you know, there was a musical family. So when I got there, it was you, Wilson,

Was there was there a black radio presence in Oklahoma at that time? No, So how did you I mean, because your your voice is I mean, you just automatically assumed that you literally came out the womb being raised and.

Braised and smothered in soul.

But in Oklahoma, how did you receive your education and information?

Well, first of all, my mom sang better than me at that time, you know, I was she had chops to wiggle her voice any kind of way. And so when I first heard little Stevie Wan, I thought it was a girl. And I said, hey, Mom, let me say I can beat her. I can beat her. Mom, I swear I can be He said, we'll go us sit down. You ain't be no girl, It ain't bet no. And then I find out it wasn't a girl. Was a little Stevie Wonder. But I was like, I can

Pop radio station.

It was like pop was it?

So you're saying that your parents forbid you to sing secular music in my household and couldn't do that. We had to go next door.

My dad is a preacher, my mom was the state Minister of music, and it's not you not doing that and then wow, so what could you listen to? What would they we really have any you know, wentn't too much to listen to. I mean we have had a record player. We hear some Heya Jackson, are you hear

Okay, So besides, I know Leon Russell is from the area. But was there I know that you guys you were his band at one point? Correct, yes, So how did that partnership come about?

Well, we were playing this club I think it was about fifty May hold about fifty people, and we was playing late nights. We started about eleven twelve o'clock and leave out at about five o'clock in the morning. So it was. And they came in the club one night and I was like, who's the white boys back there? Just cause you know? And they was back back to that party and and then nobody seemed to know who they were. And then the next weekend they came back

So were you performing as the gap? And by that point okay, so he didn't too much like that name. No, he was trying to make us change it.

What year was that? I was in the early seventies some time, I think seventy one seventy two. So where then.

Okay, so this is like right when a song for you was just starting to Yeah, it's somewhere now. But so we was starting to make a name from so.

We were and he just sort of like, we said, you want to go to the studio. So we went to the studio and and checked him out. We played a little bit. It was you know, quite late. We was just you know, recorded to about ten and eleven something like that, and when finally went home, went to sleep, but and uh he had a show coming up, and the invited us to the show. And I went to see his show, and and uh he after the show,

Yeah, so.

Uh he said really I was like yeah. So he says, okay, he went to the studio and he says, well, following over the studio, he gave us about I don't know, five or six albums here we'll learned these albums. Learned this, I said, what songs? Every one of them on all of the albums. But see Py previously had told us, which was what was the greatest things is the beginnings.

You know what I'm saying. We just stopped playing to him where we went.

You know, he was fast enough to follow him, and so he started off on one and then he went to a whole different album and we just like and had the keys that so and so when he when he started playing the different keys, we just followed, looked and followed the intros. And then then he just stopped and looked at the site. You gotta be kidding me. It's like, man, what else you want to do is nothing? I'm good, he said, So let me. Can I ask you a question? I said, yeah? He said, can I

That's similar to uh, Jimmy Hendrick steal in the spot, like from Little Richard broh YEA yeah, yeah yeah Little Richards still gotta go, bro, I can't have that yeah steal.

So how long was it until?

Did you guys stay with him until you recorded your debut record in seventy seven, the one before when you went to uh.

No, we was we was him. We did. We did one album on Gap and we did which sold about maybe sixteen records in the neighborhood. And then we then we did I stopped all that jazz album with him, and and then and he wanted to He wanted me to to They wanted me to leave the band and uh and so they was and Elton John was coming out and they wanted me to to to to take go after him and I was like, because my brother's coming. They was like, I just want you and I was like, no, that's okay.

So even then, did you guys like have a pack like we're going to be a man and were did? I? I was the pack leader with that vibe. I don't know what everybody else's motivation.

Was, motives were for me, I was like, let's stay together. And I was the only one that thought out that was me. And I'm the one saying less you see what I'm saying and uh, And I don't think they really really didn't get that for so many years time out. Yes, you guys played on stop all that jazz. Yes, if you look at the end. Wait a minute, I have that record, I think now I look again, I'm the one that the little skinny one over him.

That's me closer to him.

Wait, I'm about to tell Steve.

You wouldn't know it, Steve, because there's a bunch of Africans on the front cover, or I did not know that was that's all of us.

My brother's in the band, that we all all of us and the white girl and other ladies that that was the background singers, all of it was all of us. Now I gotta go to Philly to find that record. It's I have it.

When when Leon Russell passed recently, I went out pretty much part the entire catalog on vinyl, and uh, that record stood out and not not because of the Africans on the the music tell the truth the music.

That that's that's a superb. Yeah, it's a great record. Yeah yeah, wow. Okay, I did not know now which one of you I think.

I think I'm the ones right behind him, the most skinny ones right closer to him.

I was young, quite I think that's me.

I think that's me.

Right, Oh, look at the baby. Okay, all right, So I could assume that all this activity happened inside of Oklahoma. Mm hm, So where does the association with Lonnie Simmons come into play? Am I to assume? Form storry to hang on the most obvious question? I know the answer, but uh, Gap, of course is the abbreviation for Greenwood, Archer, and Pine. Yes, why were those particular three streets chosen as the name of the band that.

Was black Wall Street? And all of the black owned businesses or were very rich black people entrepreneurs, bankers, hotel, owners. Everything was just black owned and very very rich. And they had their own bus lines, they owned caf service, they had their own everything. And on Greenwood Archer was in this way, Pine was running this way, which made an h so we was called a greenwod Arch and

So after that initial burning, was there ever an attempt to resurge it throughout time in history. I think I've only been to Oklahoma maybe once or twice. They tried to rebuild and they burned them again.

Whoa damn. Yes, when did the rebuild. It was in the twenties. After they burned it the ash, they tried to rebuild again a few years later and just burn them out again. As simple as that. It's like, no, you it was it was too. It was too they didn't need the outside world. It's like they didn't need the outside Tulsa for anything. They had their own community, own everything, and so that was like the help was being taken from the white world, is what I'm trying

Can I assume that your parents and your grandparents and before then were they all in Oklahoma at the time.

Grandmother my mother was a very very very very little child. She was born in twenty three stores around that time. So my grandmother knew about it really well and told everybody, but she they weren't allowed really to talk about it. It was like a hush hush really oh yeah, because you know, that was too much information because the way they the way they burned everybody out, and it just

Well, I knew that Singleton's uh Rosewood was semi based on it. I mean it's not, but he said that he borrowed, you know, bits of history from uh the blood from from the Black Wall Street experience. So, uh, how does Lonnie Simmons come into the picture and you guys move into la It was years later. We actually kind of was so heartbroken that we were trying to figure out what we're gonna do because I mean, you know, we've been on.

Tour with the guy. We was the band, we cut the records, and we just thought everything was gonna blossom from that platform and it just didn't work out that way. And man, I was just so hot, so heartbroken, and the band was kind of like just nervous. I said, Okay, we went to California. We came out to Los Angeles and we was bumping around in there for a year just trying to figure out what. We ended up on Tattoo Records, which was a subsidiary of R. C A

So Tattoo Records was real label because I remember when Shaka Khan first signed her deal with Warner Brothers, at least for the first two records, Tattoo Records was on it. So who ran Tattoo I can't remember, but they had a deal through Warner or yeah, I think so, or just whatever label would was playing. Yeah, okay, I see, it's actually weird. It's like confession time.

So even though.

At least by the second album with the Oops up being a national single, when I first heard of you, I thought you were a chef because there's a feature one of your first features and Ride On magazine wasn't yes trying to cook eggs? Yo? So like this is the thing in I mean now, I mean, you know, millennials are very fortunate now to get you know, a

What CPIA black beat.

Was okay, but yeah, in right On magazine they did this this layout of of Charlie Wilson in the kitchen, like but like a very extensive, like twenty photo of you know, first, I take the cinnamon and.

Yo, he made breakfast.

Yo.

I told my mom like yo, this and like wait, we had what was for breakfast?

I mean he made a traditional breakfast. I forgot now, But like I was doing the cinnamon and my friends still like tell you what, Like in my head, I wasn't connecting the oops up side your head guy with this is Wilson.

I mean he got a clean feather.

He looked like Philip Ingram from Switch, Like he's feathered out, smooth, smooth go tea.

I thought he was a chef. So you know, like do you remember I remember the shooting, I remember burning my hand. I was in the pancakes and my hand was too close to and I remember going up and I was and they caught the picture with my mouth because I was turned.

I did that. Yeah, I gotta give myself a reggae sorry, real show.

Really, I burnt my hand and I did that.

See and yeah, you've probably been like, ain't nobody gonna read this? Why can I just talk about my new single see Cynthia Hornet's Yeah. So well, I was gonna say, uh, what was?

Because I know that in Los Angeles that time period, I mean, you can either roll with Clarence Avont or uh, Dick Griffy, Right.

You know, I don't know what Barry Gordy's vibe was.

I mean I know that his sister Iris Gorya was sort of taking over the the reins of Finding Acts at Motown between like seventy five and eighty five and with Lonnie Simmons, So at least, what what was the initial like, how did you guys hook.

Up with him? And it was me I hooked up with him, and I said everybody the band just kind of fell apart and they was everybody after nothing worked? You know, the Tattoo record, that thing didn't work, and so everybody was like, Okay, we was in Los Angeles a whole year, and you know, those guys took a leave of absence and I didn't know what a leave of absence was. I quit my job. I quit my job,

You know, how do you Yeah, I was gonna say, how do you survive?

It's it's a do die. It's it's like, you know, man, it's we I had cereal and water and uh, you know, whatever breakfast would be. And we stayed fifteen in a one two bedroom apartment with a lady who already had four kids. And we were all on the floor. Yeah, we was all on the one bathroom. We was all on the floor. We was in the jungle there. And it's like she must have believed in Harrison. Yeah, she

That birthday party. He come back to.

Jacket boom, he was like, get out, you don't get out.

He was already mad at the woman. So that one just blew it.

Get out.

Wow. So that that initial band, h, I guess you got to get your first soul training appearance in seventy nine. That initial band migrated from Tulsa.

To know that the band didn't make it. That meant that our that band did never make it to no TV shows, no other records, so none of that. So, like I said, I met Lannie and and his club and uh because d J Rogers was there doing those times and and and of course DJ used to pull me on stage and and let me sing and and

Yeah, I was gonna say because I think even priors, uh that Niggas Crazy album was was was.

Yeah, it was. It was taped. There was a nightclub too. Yeah, it was his had a night his nightclub. That's the way he was. He was known for that and mm hm. Him and Dick Griffy were cool. You know. I also played that they were cool.

But if you said him and take her for cool, then that.

It was like it was.

It wasn't cool to that part.

I mean, was he a nurturing guy or was he shug Knightish Lonnie Lonnie Lonnie was Uh, it was I want to say in the category maybe of a shure.

The night he was could have been the first one. But he was very a smooth one. He didn't get if you got it upset, he wouldn't come get you though he raised his voice. He just took action. Whether the guys around him would because you know, it was like and it would just be like that. But uh, we that's how we started. It was from me and him. It was our relationship that we did this whole thing about. He would give me a contract or not keep it a week and I give it back to him and

I guess like Robert Goody Woodfield and Yarborough people's were they.

Becoming part of the family. Oh you have them too. I brought them. I found found everybody that was on that label. I did. Wow, it was me who got brought everybody. He brought nobody. It was me brought everybody.

That what you get for that?

I was experienced, That's all you got. It was indeed a total experience. That's what that was. But they went in Texas and I I was on the road and I went to this club and I seen y'all brow on people's and up and I a friend of mine that was was connected on the total experience side and name was Rudy Taylor at that time, Rudy Taylor. And I asked Rudy to get on the phone and called

So you know what I mean is that at one point in time, if you had good ears and something sounded good, it was worthy of getting signed, Like, not once did he say, well, you know, does the girl look good like what she looked like?

Our market? No signed him.

Have you had someone that he passed on that eventually.

Made it or he didn't have anybody? No know what I'm saying. Was there somebody that, oh that he didn't try to bring to the fold that he didn't want? Yeah? No, there was nobody that I brought that he didn't want. I mean, he just It's like I had a guy named Dorian Williams who who the actor? No, okay, yeah, his name is Paul Williams actually, but we called him Dorian and he was it was like Luther Vandros at

So I have to ask how influential was Funkadelics. Let's let's take it to the stage album to.

You, because I feel like, you know, eighty seventy nine to eighty was a transitional period that was really hard for a lot of the seventy bands to cross over and to maintain, like, you know, Ohio players imploded. Uh, you know, at least a lot of the lead singers of particular acts.

Have left for solo careers, and then the left the left behind group members imploded.

Uh.

But you kind of just took the the p funk absolutely uh uh, I'll say baton and kept it alive.

And so what was was there any feelings on their end of you guys sort of.

Taking their their modus operandi and and actually running good with it.

It was a couple of guys and and and the band that you know, if say, if you come up, George will call you up on the stage and if they don't like it, they started doing the waltz, you know, and so George made him stop doing the wats one time I came on stage, but I already knew what the Walts was because I was going with one of the girls. It was from the from the Parliament Pocademics, so I used to go with doing silver now yet, so.

I already knew what that whole thing was.

But so when the wa what's the wall, just like he's washed up or whatever, and so George would just go right over there and just don't do that. Don't do that on him. So everybody stops and I'll just take the mic and just rip the place apart. And then I think after I I did that one time, they was like, oh, he's not He's not a whimp.

So so speaking of which, and we kind of mentioned it, what were your feelings to Uptown Funk and how did you because you know, I mean there have been think pieces on these twelve artists could also get a piece of the right, but you guys.

Did it, so technically they had to give it to me.

Are you a Grammy winner because it was a Record of the Year or is that only for Song of the year If you're listened to his song, right, song of the year?

Good song? Okay, So it wasn't song. It was record of the year. That's for the perform it was. It was my I remember my manager, he's in there now. He was. I mean, he he calls such a stink. That's what good managers do. He called a good manager. He calls such a stink man on everything, and so I think they was about tired of looking at him

Was chatting it and so hey, so it came to a quicker conclusion than the Robin Marvin Gaye situation.

We got paid for whatever. He's happy, you know.

Nineteen eighty also brought another uh what I would assume for you a bucket list pairing, uh you singing background on I ain't going to stand for it with Stevie.

So I mean, I'm just assuming that this guy's your hero. Yeah, assuming we can assume that. You don't have to assume no more. It's one of my heroes.

So what was that experience like for you to work with Prime Stevie, especially when, like I know how some artists could have. I've seen artists ego trip and kind of shun out of anyone that's remotely capable of out seeing them or outshining them. And always wanted to know because there's two versions of I Ain't gonna stand for it. The version on forty five goes about maybe thirty seconds longer than the album version. And I was always impressed with the fact.

That you.

Saying so disciplined when you could have easily just started, you know, your vocal acrobatics.

What was that whole experience like recording with them? Let me tell you that is not the version at all. That that's not the best version. There's another one, now, the version that we actually did in the beginning you knew what's coming. Yeah, that version that he did, he couldn't get that. We recorded that version in botic sound, which is Ike Turner study. Wow really and that version with the wo wo walk oh man, that one right there, he had the thing around his neck to make himself

Said, yeah, we couldn't get that.

He couldn't get that, but anyway, it was something I never get got the real story from why we didn't use it. So he was trying to recreate it after, like years later, to try to recreate it. I said, where, Yeah, when was the first one?

There?

Man, I can't now, I can't remember the year now i'm a little It came out in eighty, No it was.

I assume he wasn't doing nothing between seventy six and eighty.

It was eighty. Then it came out. We did it. We did it in seventy nine, seventy nine in the version. I'm thinking something like that late night. How did you meet Stevie? Yeah? I met Stevie from the album from when I was with Shelter with Leon Russell. We went out to Los Angeles to mix the record Magician's Holiday and he was still in the record plant, just running over time like you always do, right in there and he was a begone and he was our and a half two hours. So they had the record and this

I couldn't even say the part, man, I couldn't even get my licks out.

Man. I was shaken and like a nervous, like you know, that was my first time and we've been friends ever since then, That's what's up. Yeah, I just was just nervous and uh and uh you know, so that was my first time meeting them. And then, like I said, it happened again and he wanted to get being on that record and then and we couldn't do it at the time. We was on tour. He offered Center a plane, a jet and and Uh, of course everybody was nervous.

Try to get rid of the Charlie Wilson. Stupid people, what they think about it.

I was young at the time, man, but these guys are they're probably getting hide confused. I'm like, dude, he just want us to sing on the record. Get out of here. So anyway, that next uh, that next two days later, I just popped on a jet and uh, and then everybody followed me, and I guess right after that, I'm gone, I see y'all going to stay with Steve and so I got back and did the vocals and uh, but I heard I said, where's the other version? And

Wait, uh, you know what it's everything's coming to me now as you're talking. I gotta go back to p funk. Can you please tell me the origin of new Spaceship?

Oh?

What's that an old track that you sang on? Because there's no way in hell and we're referring to new Spaceship on the.

On the George Clinton, George Clinton People All Stars awesome, power fully operational mothership.

But they called it T A T A old P whatever the initials opp? Whatever the initials opp.

Dude, when that record came out, you know we were skimming through it, and you know I do the occasional ten second audition, and dude, I'm saying like, I don't even know if you remember the Steve, but when we were recording uh Voodoo with D'Angelo, it's all he listened to. Man, it was like a where did like was it a track that George just gave you to sing over or just.

Me I personally, I don't even remember.

You don't remember New Spaceship. I don't remember it. Oh Jesus Christ, here let me see, ladies and gentlemen, this is new Spaceship. I have to hear it from the ABC threep George, George Clinton, the p Funk All Stars.

Yes, uh on course of Supreme right here. This is one of my favorite songs ever. I remember.

Now, okay listen, let me tell you the story. Are you ready to hear the story?

Yes, okay, listen, he is ready.

That was my version. We was talking about sly Stone. This is how so I'm going in. I'm like, I'm marking slide.

We're talking about this, and so he said, man, Charlie Whistle does a great version of slid Stone. So I was I was like, when I'm around slide back of the day, this is how he would be. And that's where that vocal came. And I started doing that. So all of that and they kept it. They kept all of that. And then because that's how we was doing it in at the beginning, before he got anything, I'm marking sly and then I turned to do my own thing with the with the with the Charlie Wilson thing

I'm like, it sounds like Jerome Big Brilly on drug backing track.

Yeah, well, we was recording it for that particular we was trying to get something. He was trying to get this thing and y'all got it and we got and we just started I started acting like slide. We was laughing about that, and uh, he said, go Howard Sly singing, and I was just like, that's how I started swat that the voice that sounded like that I was marketing.

So I've had the pleasure of wait wait that songs from the nineties.

Steve Steve.

Steve was one of the engineers on d'angelo's Voodoo.

So like during the.

First month of us recording out Electric Lady.

D had the CD.

George gave it to him before it came out, and that's all he played for me all the time, and like we were just wow, flabbergasted, like flabbergasted at you guys nailing classic p funk in the nineties.

Twenty years after that, after that time period, I just I just I just was going, uh uh sometime I have a problem moderating of then. I was, you know, you put yourself, he puts us too much on your on yourself, put too much on yourself. And I just never never liked the fact that the ad lives. It's just they just want me to just just be just be Charlie Wilson whatnot.

I mean, it was like and so it was like, okay, uh, what what is the what is the what's the title?

And what?

It was like, No, you just you just you just give me some little whatever.

Yeah. So I was just like that.

But then I noticed that everybody always liked that. So it's always either it's just always just go off the top of the head with feeling. But this is the thing though, it's real.

I'll be one of the Okay, I'm all, I'm one of those people. That's okay, I took I took you for granted, because the thing is that, I mean, when you grow up in a time period and you just see all this greatness, you know you do it.

It's just that's just what he do. He's great.

So you you've sat you've done uh the Fallon Show with us like maybe three or four times. You sat him with us twice, and there's one point where you're we can clearly hear you through the vents doing your vocal warm ups, and we're all looking at each other like it it was the most It was like a monster movie, like we just we're at the vocal event like listening to him, and it was how do you how do you warm up your your your your instrument?

How do you preserve?

Because like you I saw I saw clips of recently to show you to hear, and like all these songs, you're singing in the same key.

When I was, when I was, when I was, back when I was young, and that's still saying. I don't We didn't change the keys for me, and everybody used to say, man, my brother may need to change the key. I said, man, that ain't gonna sound right. He's your key and the ease my key. When from when I was, when we was younger, that was in my twenties, and that's we wrote all the stuff in those keys and that was it. So I still sang all the keys, the songs in the same keys, and we wrote all

So from a non me being an obvious non singer barely talking, what is because I would think that if you activate your voice for thirty five to forty five minutes, you might wear it out. So you have to get it in motion and exercise it just to keep the.

Yeah, you get it warmed up, and then after you do the correct exercise and for thirty minutes, then you can go and hit the notes that you want to hit.

Do you sing from your diaphragm as all singers are supposed to.

Be supposed to do? Yeah, it comes sometimes and sometimes are you initially singing from your throat? But at the beginning, until I met him and then he showed me how to well, actually they told me that taught me that in high school and in college. But again, you know,

How do you preserve like so like after a show, what's your ritual like after after the show is done?

I have no rituals about nothing. Okay, scarf on your I don't have rituals at all. And the only ritual I have is uh, if you want to use the rituals, it would be. My wife is the ritual. She is the ritual. That's she makes sure that I'm warm, and she makes sure that I'm drinking something warm. And then my guy at temporal, he's he keeps some warm stuff with me, hot water and honey, and and that's it. Man. And I when I get off the stage, I do the wrong thing. I'm talking loud and I'm hollering and

I was just gonna say, this is not like a manual for all singers, because you're you're blessed.

Nonethe less.

Yes, so it's not an arefa the Luther thing where you have to turn off and well.

Let me tell you something about about air conditions. It'll rip you up. And if you got to saying I wouldn't be serious. You're serious.

This is the one thing that Tarik and I Tarik is the It could be the middle of summer and he'll make the driver turn off the air conditions and make us all suffer in the car. And he's like, I won't have a voice for a showtime. Absolutely not, that's a cycle whatever. Tarika hasn't smoked in about five years now. Really yeah, okay, listen, that is absolute truth right there. You do not you want to have the temperature in the car off just at.

Least seventy five degrees wow, Okay, at all times if you want to sing if you want to have good voice. Now, if I had to sing the night, I wouldn't be in this room. Oh you wouldn't. Okay, Now it's too cold in here, I see, but it's you. It'll tear you out. You notice I'm kick clear in my throat because the cold air is get into it. But I'm just talking. So but it's not just.

Because a recording studio.

Yeah it's not.

And it's always colding.

You know. When I'm in recording, I ain't. We don't have that. You're gonna shut that down, so we won't be doing vocals in that studio, not Willson.

So by the time that uh gap in three, four and five come out, when you guys are really fully operational, well I always wanted to know because when I when I spoke of the let's take it to the stage character with you're like provoking people like Dann suckling' you know whatever. Yea, What was your relationship like with your band contemporaries back then? Like were there rivalries with comfunction or or you know all these other bands like yeah, I'm gonna show y'all what's up and you.

Know that sort of thing every single night.

So in hindsight, what was the band that got under your skin?

Like, yo, man, we're going to take it. What it's like, It's like this we were. It was comfunction basically because they would put from seriously I hympathetically just throwing a dark Kno, let me tell you why. It's because they went put fringes on their uniforms, and it was like, okay, you know we've been we do cowboys. We went fringes

He tell us about Larry because that's every of every artist, of all the artists we've had on the show, that could have told us Larry Troutman stories we've not asked, especially with like because I know that Zapp in the time had rivalries as well.

What was it like with with the Troutman clan and working with them? And it was great? It was, I mean, you know, just like I said, Ma, and Roger was so tight. It was. But Roger had the edge because he was using a talk box and so and I shoud tell him, is you cheating? You ain't singing out every night? No, he was a talkbox, so, I mean, so he was saying, he just grabbed my throat like this.

Tolls. Well. He would also do tricks like he wore the underwear that lit up and they did crazy tricks in concert.

So why why is it that when I want to hear computer Love now it's I'm about to say, Gwyn Guthrie, Shirley Murdoch singing your parts.

There's two versions of computer Love and for some reason, your your vocals are not.

On the they come in at the end, they come into the ad libs even yeah, yeah, on the fade out.

Why is that? Well, it's like this, Oh God. The beginning of the relationship with that record and the way they took basically they I went had a tape and I played it for the total experience Lonnie, and they was like, I ain't never hit and so wait a minute, So uh, I said, okay, And I think he was kind of a little upset going on clock.

So they didn't.

So who told you to go? Say yeah? But anyway, you didn't like it, I said, so you don't mind it coming out. It ain't gonna be no hit. I was like, okay, we didn't have a hit at the time. So the record came out about two about a year and a half later. Yes, it did, and from the time I had got to cassette it was a year and a half later. But I thought the record gonna come out faster than it did, but it didn't. And then when it did, it's just shooting up the charts.

Ah.

Yeah, so and then of course they had to strap scram around to try to get another version. And by that time you in the top five. Man, I mean, the record is already it's out there, beasts. And so they put the Shirley Murdock version out and then and it stayed there for a minute, and I think it just started on the way because people used to the other version. You just can't just throw another version hello and having it, having it, having it doesn't doesn't matter

So me and the man coffee together because it was a rap.

After that, Me and Roger come on, Yeah, we just slaughtered the place. Yeah. When you talk about Shirley Murdoch, incredible. Yeah.

The producer for s w V, Brian Allix and the Morgan It was a huge fan and he talks about how his whole idea for s w V was that he wanted to take your melody and he kind of saw Coco as like a Shirley Murdoch and like.

Week he was weak for you. Yeah, it was for Charlie. Yeah, because we already had a song was that same melody, We had a record already that so he took that one and made it.

Did you catch that the initial inception like this sounds familiar? Let me tell you in hindsight, you know, I wrote this as a tribute to you.

You are my You're my style, your everything to me. You are my pride. So he did it so weak at the knees as a Capitol record, so I mean, I mean the last one of the glass Gap Band records, and so a total experience I think seven six or seven seven somewhere there. So he just straight took that same melody and just I mean it, I get so weak. But Brian wanted to write for me and we just never got a chance to get around to that. But he had great success with the SWV Man Good Luck.

So with Gap Band four, with with Early in the Morning, and and and you dropped the bomb on me and very unlikely Outstanding because it's weird because I purchased.

No.

But I'm saying that, you know, at the time when I when I got Gap in four, I didn't realize that, you know, to me, Outstanding was just quality, quality filler, right. I didn't see it as, oh, this this might be the biggest single of his career, just like oh it's closing side to you?

When did you drop the side too? Let's get to that. But I mean, how is that when you.

Wrote outstanding in your head, did you realize that this was going to dominate every two step barbecue in the history of black gatherings.

Of all time when that record was Yeah, I went I we was working on that record, me and the Drama cat Horn. When we was working on that record, it felt so so so good to me that it was like I couldn't believe that the vibe on it that was that man and had so much emptiness love that was there. It's just it was so you know, it was it's the spacing of it was just great.

Did you did you guys work on both versions, like the remix and this album version at the same time.

No, so you did the remix in.

Hindsight after the album was done, And yes, okay, that's that's what I wanted to know. Yes, all right, I have a question about you dropped the bomb on me. Okay, So American.

Music Awards nineteen eighty two, you guys are performing you dropped the Bomb on Me. Now I'm watching this on a small black and white television Quest Love Supreme listeners.

At one time, everything wasn't in plaid. Wait, don't say wow, like you know, I'm just I remembering, all right, Oh thank you. I thought you're trying to disassociate yourself from my age.

Anyway.

Wow, At the last twenty seconds of that performance, something so miraculous happened, and I cannot believe.

The world didn't rave over it. I thought it was you.

I think he told me he was your trumpet player. Someone did the moonwalk, and I'm looking at my mom and my.

Dad, like do you see us?

He's walking like this is this is a year before Michael Jackson did at Motown twenty five.

At the very end, either was it you? Was it? Now? I was this kid that I found. His name was Baby Gap, and I named him Baby Gap. Okay, yeah, because he's also dancing on Beeper Free. Okay, now it makes sense. Yeah, okay, maybe he had the same outfit on you.

But literally he just grabs the mic stand and he does just the most exaggerated moonwalk, like even more exaggerated than Michael Jackson.

And I was like, how's the world not seeing this right now?

Like why?

And the next day in school was like, did y'all see this? They're like it was like snuffle up. I guess, like, no one believe me. He was walking backwards, but from okay.

Yeah, it's and the way it's like, I don't want to deflate Michaels, but he used to come to the shows and in the corner on the stage still and watched and watched and watched watch baby Gap do it and how he did it and everything, and but that told story was never never told. So it's all y'all did it first?

That's a moonwalk battle. Then because dude from Shallamar he claims that he created it.

Too, I mean he, yes, he did. Daniels went to this house.

But I'm telling you, if they did it on the American Music World, then I'm like, then they must have been doing it a lot. Yeah, and the world must have seen it.

But they That was the first time I saw a commercial artist, not like a dancer on soul Trae or whatever.

It was the first time it was uh nationally and national. Yes, scene was by us, Yes, and we was the first on that particular show. Was the first black artist to ever have pyro as well, Yes, we had power and the other only Somebody's had power was Kissed and then they just were saying that we couldn't use the Pyro. And then that's when line said, well, well why does kiss use the Pyro? And the guy was like, m

I don't know if it's just contractual whatever, but for some reason, Gap Being five is nowhere to be found, like not on streaming, not on reissues. Is it was that just like a in your eyes like a still born child or it's party Trade was on that album and yeah, it's like the Big Records was there and.

I'm ready, you're ready, Like yeah, that's it's so hard to find. Yeah, it's I don't quite no, it's just it's yeah, it's like control it with Gold. It was just like, is Loney Simmons still alive now or he is still alive from my us for my knowledge, yes.

So does he still control the Masters and all that?

And that?

Like no, so he sold it out, Okay, it's probably through Universal. So now we gotta get to I'll Find My Baby? Yeah, so was I Found My Baby?

Was that a song?

Where was it like accidental where it's like you realize, like, oh man, I did the same song already or was it intentionally trying to follow up outstanding?

Well, it wasn't my idea to do that, but it was somebody's idea. It's like, give me another of course. And uh, and I was telling him like, dude, listen, that record is already too big. You want to you don't want to fool or that shoe is big. Put your foot in that shoe. It's a sass twenty two now, whereas Sae ten is not gonna fit. He didn't understand what I was talking about, but he tried it, So I tried it with him. And and uh, I don't know if you remember the video. Do you remember the I.

Remember where someone kid was missing? They were handing out flyers.

Yeah? Yeah, But did you see the street version, I mean while we was in the street doing thehocography. Did you see the news clip when I got knocked out? You never seen that, boy?

I see, I remember it long ago on video jukebox. Wait you got knocked out?

Yeah? Man, so what so so listen, we're we're we're going down the street. All the whole group is going. So baby Gap is flipping. He's supposed to flip, right, so he's flipping and so when I back up, I don't like when he comes right down on the top of my head with his flip, and uh, man, I was just out. I was.

I was more embarrassed.

I was more embarrassed that I hit this concrete than anything. And I was still on the video. I don't know they they didn't care, but it was on the news. It was on the news because the news cameras there because we had shut the street down and so the news was there and they called it on it. And anyway, I remember laying there, uh and I was like, and I watched everybody feet come, but I was I was more embarrassed to get up than anything. So I just laid there.

So, Okay, there's there's there's another song on the Gap Being six record that I've been dying to know about, probably Boss Bill too, not Be for Freak. I love be for Freak By the way you do that, dude, that was a soul trained staple. Wow, that's my song. However, a very interesting song and an even more interesting video. Now I had to do some purple investigation and purple investigation in oh, I know where you're going. Well, I

Let's take it to the stage songwhere he's talking smack And so I asked Alan Leeds, Princess tour manager at the time. I was like, okay, So the song came out in eighty four, I said, did something happen between Prince and Charlie Wilson that made the song come up like disrespectful and Alan couldn't remember. He's like, I don't know, it's maybe Charlie wanted to sing on stage with Prince is something?

What is what is the origin of disrespectful?

And can I assume that it was directed?

You had your chance chance to dance to disrespect you won't let me on? But what happened?

Well, I love Prince man, we all love Prince and this is.

The hindsight and this song, this song is thirty years ago, so yeah it's and so hey, man, see this beef we can talk about.

I mean, we always talked about He's always like, man, it's my favorite band and all of that. And and then once I saw him, I treated some young kids and and it was just like, how is it. I was like, you're not gonna even You're not gonna even take the picture, or you're not going I was looking.

But anyway, y'all never had to come to Jesus moment either though, No.

Not not really. I mean, we could have, we could have, but at the time I was I was in my disease of getting high and and it's like and he was waiting on me, and I said, I'm coming, I promise you. Wow, I beat up and you're coming from jump up, coming up on my way so five minutes turned into whatever. So when I did get there, he

Man, you know that's a part of the process, right yeah, yeah, so hey.

And then but anyway, I would leave him alone right now because I got cut up talking about him one time. Fans told me up, So I don't want to go back through that. I'm alive. I testify and tell people that I'm always on drugs and that that that's why I'm alive. I remember you.

Uh it was this was a couple of years ago when Casey and Jojo had their reality show and you were talking to them just about sobriety, and you told them straight up, just like, listen, this is You're gonna be out on tour and it's gonna be someone offering you a drink and you ain't gonna be.

Able to say no, you able to turn it down?

How have you Because at the time when when we met, this was years ago at the Grammys in twenty ten and you were performing at the Pretails and when this was when my bandformn Exchange No nominated and we met real briefly and then you performed at the Pretails and killed it. And I remember at the end you was like, you know, I beat prostate cancer. I got twenty years sober, like you was just going in. So how have you you know, enable to tour and everything? How what is that daily walk of sobriety.

Like for you? I got my wife with me, so she's she's a rehab and so we Uh it's just like and for so many years she was, I guess known as the enemy and because she was just stopping the don't matter family, people don't matter. How long have you guys been married? Twenty two wow, every single day, twenty four hours a day we were together. But it's like it's like when she told me she would be with me, you know, and whatever, no matter what that that.

You know?

So after that, she heard me say that, so she she cut everybody, didn't matter who it was. Kids don't matter.

No.

Now, y'all right?

Because a tribune or is she writing songs? You guys write songs together, and then she writes because the record she's like every.

Song, Yeah, she's writing with me. Now she's like, because I sometimes I have problems, you know, trying to figure out what I want to say, and she's she has something used to say and she writes them from me. And like if I'm singing the vocals or something, and I'm coming and I'm I'm going down, I'm getting my things on. I'm really I'm getting going into it as far as I'm concerned. Then I look up and she's talking to the engineer and I'm looking. I'm like, dude,

So I'm like, wow, that's the better half of you. Bet that's bet half.

So that was the first time when I first heard that, I was like, wow, can I just get warmed up first, I'm just getting warmed up. She's like, no, you're gonna sing. You sang so.

So obviously, as music fans and geeks that we are, you know, a lot of the stuff that we're talking about with you, you know, these are like the highlights of our lives. But I mean, for every person's highlight that could have been your personal hell. How you know I've read the the part of your life when you were homeless, and like how how does it get to that point where it's just like like what was that first night light, that first night like for you?

When well, first of all, you don't probably you don't thank you that you're homeless, conseider, You might be at somebody how smoking all night. You might be somebody. You're just there and some some some spot. You know what I'm saying, You there, and then then the next day you ain't even like nowhere to I left that spot,

And how does it go from Because we spoke briefly off air when you were saying, how y'all weren't really making a lot of money off the total experience.

Of money or none?

I an't no money, but so was this was pretty much the only source of income just from touring and shows.

I ain handle income.

Wow, So not even the sampling of outstanding.

Back in the day it was oncoming.

So jesus, wow, man, I see wow. Well my questions I will read the fine print.

Uh.

One question I have for you was in regards to like covers of your songs when people cover your stuff. Two of some of my favorite gap band songs I've discovered through the cover and then I went back and heard the original and uh, Mary Mary Jay she covered I'm in Love and then Jacket Edge they covered Wednesday Love Her.

What did you think of those covers? I thought they were great, But what do you as the songwriter? You think? It's like it's it made me feel proud. I mean, when there's another generation is recording your records. I was just really happy about the fact that that and then married. So I know, million or two read records off of that had albums and saw my brother he was the primary writer, so he was happy and because they actually he got paid. But at that time some kind of way,

In two thousand and four, I think it was two thousand and four you covered less Chill.

Yeah, fool people with that. I put it on and they're like, remember right right, Well, the reason I did it is because he had done Yearning that one time. They did like, this is one of my favorite record, So I'll do this one, and I just did it.

Do you have like, because I know you've done a lot of features, do you have number one? Have you said no? And is there requirements in your mind to what you will not do?

Uh? I've been pretty I've stayed uh in my lane pretty much, meaning uh you know R and B adult contemporary, and that lane is you know, I paved the way of somewhat nobody was really you know before that lane was just really like being used a lot. Now I think we came in there and just busted the place up, and uh so I've been very happy there. And uh, I don't think I would just be trying to do

I was young, now young man, I was a kid. I'm basically, but it won't be.

Young Charlie Wilson like, now we're.

Not doing that. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't cross that line. And to try to do do it for what, you know, it's like to disappoint the fans that buy the physical sales all the time for me or download the streams for me. They I mean, why would I

So how surreal is it to I mean, you've done something that not many rappers have been able to do. You've actually transcended generations of hip hop artists, whereas you know, doing the stuff with Snoop and and and and Death Row Family then and now even twenty five years after that, still going strong with stuff on Kanye's record and.

Working for Yeah, for Snoop, A girl, that girl that and Bush.

Yeah. Yeah, So I mean, how how surreal is Are you ever surprised now when you get a call like from.

A nineteen year old Yeah? Yeah, I mean I was. I've turned a few of them down. I was like, man, and I know it's like they said, but he's up and coming. I said, I'm up, still up and coming, but I'm not gonna be I'm not coming over there. So it's just like, just give me a minute to just take a moment to relax and breathe. Let me see what it is that this guy's doing, this kid's doing. You know what I'm saying. I just don't want to be the hook guy for every up and coming guy.

Do you do you now feel as though you're in somewhat of endangered species territory?

Because singing right now isn't really a factor in black music now, because I mean, if you thought the talk box was cheating an auto tune?

Is you know what I mean?

Like?

What is that then? Talent? I mean words?

I mean just basic things that melody structure. Yeah, it's it's it's almost as if it's kind of like the Things Fall Apart story with the Warrior, the very skilled warrior comes back.

To its homeland and don't even recognize it. It sees that you know, it's it's changed. So I mean, do you now feel do you sen? Do you do you sing with a sense of purpose that like there's only a few of us left. There's you, There's Ronald Eisley.

There's Stevie. Stevie.

I mean, how do you how do you feel just in terms of your craft and where it stands now in twenty sixteen, Whereas personally you're fine, but just as an art and the craft itself and where we're singing and the traditional black singing is concerned might be an endangered species, Like do you have thoughts about that?

I have never I haven't really really thought about it in that way, but I I do sing to protect the brand. I protect my brand and protect the R and B vibe of my life. That's what it is. And R and B I sing to protect that. And for those who are who can't get that done, then I'm the only one out here doing it, and so I have to protect it. And I go hard every time I go, and may try to make sure I'm correct with it and not to try to to let the the our community down of of of R and

So is it safe to say, on the back of his question that if you when you are working with certain R and B or soul artists, that they must be the ship thing, because then you look at Laila half the way you picked Layla, you pick Robin Thick. So in your mind, these are people who to you might be on that line of longevity.

No.

I only picked those people because they always wanted to sing with me, and I just never gave. I never had the time to put them on. And so when I was making these records, I started naming the people that said, ask me what I sing with him, and so that's what I did.

So you still got a little bit of a list left to them, I'm.

Sure because a lot of people we ain't done the Charlie Wilson, I haven't.

Haven't got you that for yet. It's like it's I have I have a lot a lot of people I still want to work with. It's like I asked, I asked quests.

He just I don't know if you heard. He just said, yeah, last I asked.

Him, last one that did. Oh, what's gonna happen? Yeah, I asked him when we did what the foul in the last time? I said, man, we got to get this record done and said, you got it. We're gonna get that done.

Done that yet you got You gotta understand that the first time he came and sat in with us, there wasn't even introductions, like we were just versing the songs, like recapitulating his songs. Uh, and then he just stormed. He stormed in our room like the kool Aide man, like through the wall and just grabbed them. It was something like that.

Yeah, you came in like theola. It wasn't even not Because you gotta understand you know the way they play, and this room is small. And when I walked in was no that you should you should hear how it sounds. And we've been in there everything is will sound like a freaking record up from there, you know.

I'm like, hey, man, that we got got right on top of that. I was like, hey, he to be like sound that things sounded good?

It ain't no lie he do. He hadn't sounded so good up and then I got to go on on give him some props on that, and and uh, you know, you know all those guys, you know, Chris got all those guys. Man, those guys is playing up and there they're not fooling around you. And and so to hear that back like that, and then they had a vocal

It was the greatest entrance of all time. There was no first name, Charlie, last name. I always was curious about. I'm gonna get your sucker and the red Yeah, I'm Gonna Get your Tucker and you're so cute.

I really like like ever like UV for us? How did that come about? How did you? We were in Uh, we was in the studio and I forgot about I'm Gonna Get Your Sucker. Movie was going and uh they asked us a duel. Could we do this soundtrack? But then they said you only have a few hours. Oh good?

Oh yeah. Man.

It was like it's like, okay, we want you to do it. But I said, they don't really want us to do that. Man, see you got like two hours to do it. You say no, said. They probably said, well, they can't do it right. When this one was about this is over on drugs, They're not gonna be able to do it, everybody said get the gap be in. It's like because you know, uh, the Wayne brothers, they you know, it's like get the gap bed, you know, to do it. They said, well, okay, but give them

Wait a minute before we stopped, I totally forgot weada mentioned Mercedes Boy.

Oh yeah yeah.

What what was that experience like? Because I initially thought Ellien Face did it when? And I forgot that you were you wrote that? Was she your artist first?

Or thank you so much? I got to figure it out. I did. I'm sorry. That was a great song. I was a great song. And that was your first pop I mean your first top ten. Yeah, and then and then you know, basketball was so cool. And then after she had went there, I caught pneumonia. Well I caught pneumonia and I went down and then she had met them, and then she was so she was initially your artist.

Well we were, yeah, had the time, Okay, okay, So and then you intended on producing that whole.

I produced the whole album. I did produce. The only thing they put was girl girlfriend and another record that had one that was it.

No shade, but baby Face said it was another whole big dude, not that I'm just just it was a big she had another never mind she was popular.

Yeah, yeah, yeahs yeah.

The people because they heard the banker was you know.

I rolling right now? Is everything right now?

That was.

Why he just killed any chances we had getting pebbles on the show. Thank you. Yeah, So you did that record? You did? I did the whole. I did the whole album. Have we uh everything? Any definite questions? Yeah? I was, yeah the dog father like how because you was all over that album.

And to me, that was when I guess I won't say come back, but I mean because that wasn't a very successful record with Snoop, but that was it was great. Yeah, yeah, it was shot up his boss Bill for even bringing that back into my parameter because I think none of us gave the dog Fill a chance because of like doing this giving a chance.

Yeah, Dre wasn't on it, and because New like consciously turned down the whole gangster element of the record, right.

And it was and I went back to it. It's a great record. It's a really great record. And I was like, man, Charlie all over this, he's singing his ass off. How did you you guys hook up at that time? Well, me and Snoop was up, and of course, you know, we were close. And I met him in ninety five, ninety five, ninety six, and that time I was just getting clean, sober, and I was just been in his life since then. But while I was getting sober, I was sober and just you know, my new life.

Wow, So what's the future for Uncle Charlie Wilson. Do you like us when we call you Uncle Charlie Wilson?

That's good? Well, yeah, it's okay, man, I listen quest man. I just I'm just so blessed to be here at now of what I'm doing now, it doesn't matter what it is. I'm the only guy that's ever come out of a group that late to try to do something solo because everybody turned me down. And it was like, dude,

They ask you for that?

How many they asked me for cars as.

He asked me.

They want houses and cars? And I was like, hey, god, damn, give my brother break. How older that held up? Man? They old?

It's so old.

I'm just saying, wow, it might be young, man, young, but but you know, I'm looking look at them. I look at their kids, like what you want? Come on now, I give you what you want? Can they sing to? Uh? One of my daughters could sing, and she just never did yeh And the other one just tone deaf, and they act like she can sing. I can't I toned that. I'm sorry, that's like it's like a it's like a dark skin in the balls.

She swept down and I'm like, oh daddy, I'm like, okay, Ship, that's just worse.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

You just kill me right there with the dark all right, Well, thank you uncle Charlie for doing my show.

Hold on, shut up, it's been a dream man. Thank you man. Should we even do reflections? I mean, I think just an episode, that's it. You know what I'm saying. I can't look bad because I'm looking too good. That's a life quote right there.

That is well on behalf of Frantic a little uh like your boss Bill, Unpaid Bill.

And Sugar Steve and the great Charlie Bullson. This is Quest Love of Quest Love Supreme, side and off. We'll see you on the next caround.

Thank you. Yeah, and when we do this goddamn Boots and CHILDI Wisdom Project, we ain't gonna see y'all next time until we do this fucking rock now.

Cool. Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team APT Pandora. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.