Charlie Wilson: From Riches to Rags to Grammys Nods

by Jacky Jasper

Lead singer to “The Gap Band”, Charlie Wilson, went broke after not handling his business properly. Combine that with being a drug addict, and you get disturbing results. At the time, even the other Gap Band members were unaware they were the victims of shady management. Know why? Because they were so high they signed off their publishing to crooked management mane.

Now, Charlie Wilson is making a drastic comeback from his years of living homeless on the streets of Los Angeles.

The R&B singer and recovering drug addict is expected to walk home with a Grammy at this year’s award show. Wilson is nominated for Best R&B Album for “Uncle Charlie” and Best R&B Vocal Performance for “There Goes My Baby.” That’s a far cry from Wilson’s drug infested time living on the streets.

“People really don’t know how I laid in the streets,” Wilson said. “From that to this, I cried when they told me I had a Grammy nomination. It still doesn’t seem real to me, because so many doors have been shut on me so many times. … Everything was derailed.”

The lead singer to hit 80′s group, “The Gap Band”, says it was 1986 when the group he shared with his brothers, was looking to divide their publishing deal with their manager. That’s when Wilson says the manager blackballed the group, leaving them penniless.

“I couldn’t bounce back from that,” he said. “Everywhere we went, he ran interference. He threatened people. It was a sad situation. Drugs came a lot more. My brothers and I weren’t getting along that well.”

Wilson lived on the streets for two years from 1993 to 1995. Many of the homeless who knew him, helped to keep the famed singer from being seen.

“It was horrifying,” he said. “When the sun came up, I ran like Dracula. I tried my best to hide.”

A meeting with his concerned cousin later prompted Wilson to seek help for his drug addiction. Wilson checked into a 28-day program where, he met his wife, Mahin Wilson, a drug rehab social worker.

“She asked me what I am going to do when I leave here?” he recalled. “That’s when I broke down and cried. I thought about it and knew I didn’t have nowhere to go. From there, I started to gather the tools that’s help me for the rest of my life.”

The singer credits Mahin for helping him to save his life.

“She’s been with me every step of the way,” Wilson said. “We go everywhere together. God just sent me this angel. She would just hang with me. That’s a true backbone you need when you’re going through something.”

After kicking his cocaine and alcohol addictions, Wilson next set out to conquer his dwindled career. With the help of fellow artists Snoop Dogg and R. Kelly, that’s exactly what Wilson did. Back in 2005, Kelly wrote his now gold comeback hit, “Charlie, Last Name Wilson.”

“As soon as everybody knew R. Kelly was working with me, everybody who told me ‘No’ stuck their head up and was calling my cell phone,” he said. “I don’t even know how they got it.”

Wilson’s most recent album, “Uncle Charlie” made number two in the Billboard Top 200, and his hit single, “There Goes My Baby” held the top spot for ten weeks.

Sadly, Wilson’s story is not an unfamiliar one. Sly Stone is also a victim of  shady management – Why do you think he’s suing his manager? One should not think that this sort of situation only happens to black musicians – Both Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones have also fallen victim to similar scenarios. Hey kids, do you still wanna get into to music business?