For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.
Today's CoronaVinyl category is "W," and I'm going with Jackie Wilson's 1966 album Whispers.
Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" because of his legendary and energetic stage shows, Wilson got his start in the '50s as Clyde McPhatter's replacement as the lead singer of Billy Ward & The Dominos, before going solo in 1957. Whispers was his 17th studio album, which is insane, considering he had only been a solo artist for nine years at that point. Then again, back then, musicians churned out music at a much more rapid pace than they do these days. Hell, U2 has been around for 40 years and has only released 14 studio albums.
By 1966, Wilson had established himself as one of the biggest soul stars in the world, but he was in a bit of a dry spell, not having a Top 40 hit since 1963. Wilson's albums were never huge successes, but rather, he relied on 45s and singles for his success. Whispers only reached #108 on the Billboard album chart and #15 on the Billboard R&B album chart, but it was still somewhat of a rejuvenation for his career. Three songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" reaching #11 (and #5 on the Billboard R&B singles chart), "I Don't Want to Lose You" reaching #84 (and #11 on the R&B chart), and "Just Be Sincere" reaching #91 (and #43 on the R&B chart). All in all, the album is a great collection of '60s soul songs, and Wilson's voice is silky smooth as always.
The following year, Wilson would release one of his most well-known and beloved songs, "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," which would prove to be his last Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In total, Wilson had 24 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, six of which reached the Top 10. He also had 16 songs that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including six #1s.
In 1975, Wilson had a massive heart attack on stage while singing "Lonely Teardrops" at concert in New Jersey with several other acts organized by Dick Clark. He was resuscitated by a member of The Coasters, but he had lost so much oxygen to his brain that he fell into a coma for several months. Even after he regained consciousness, he was essentially in a vegetative state, until he died in 1984 from pneumonia at the age of 49. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
This one is an uptempo song in which Wilson is essentially wooing a woman by telling her that he can do everything better than her current man. And there are some subtly delicious drum fills at the beginning of the song.
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