Between 1972 and 2010, Charlie Wilson was the lead singer for the Gap Band, the hit-making R&B collective behind party anthems like “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” “Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)” and “Early in the Morning.” He sang over rubbery synth-basses and hand-clap beats, performing alongside his brothers Ronnie and Robert. The Gap Band sold millions of records, and Wilson inspired future new jack swingers like Keith Sweat and R. Kelly.
But like many performers, Wilson had demons. He battled drug and alcohol addiction in the early 1990s and was homeless for three years before getting clean. (He’s also a prostate-cancer survivor, after successfully being treated in 2008.)
These days, Wilson is the R&B comeback performer of the millennium. His latest solo album, “Forever Charlie,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at No. 17 in the Billboard 200, and at 62, he has sold out most of the arena dates on his current tour. Recent collaborators include Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake. Wilson’s voice embodies a space that’s both retro and completely current — a throwback to the heady, super-fun days of R&B, with a sound that’s also strangely contemporary.
Wilson performs at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on Saturday, June 6, with Kem and Joe opening. His decision to book arena shows on his current tour rather than theaters, he says, was a calculated risk.
“I remember having a conversation with my manager…” Wilson says. “I said, ‘I’ve been doing these theaters for a while. I sure would like to do some arenas. When am I going to get a chance to do that?’ He was like, ‘We could go now, but if you don’t sell any tickets, we’re going to look really stupid’.”
Wilson was determined. “I was like, ‘Well, I think we should go big or go home.’ He said, “Well, the other side of it is, if we sell a lot of tickets, we’ll look like geniuses.’ I said, ‘I want to go big or go home.’ He said, ‘All right, let’s go’.”
Tickets sold quickly. Promoters were shocked, but Wilson wasn’t.
“I’m bringing quality R&B to the stage. There’s not that much quality to R&B anymore, man. People just get paid, they put a few lights up and go sing. I have a very expensive production and it’s beautiful, and the stage is beautiful. I have Joe and Kem in front of me, and those guys are some of the best in the business. I’m having a good time.”
When the tour wraps at the end of June, Wilson will embark on another kind of tour: Simon & Schuster will publish “I Am Charlie Wilson,” a new memoir, on June 30, and Wilson will drop into a dozen or so venues in Los Angeles, New Orleans and on the East Coast to sign copies and answer questions.
In writing his memoir, Wilson simply wanted to share his journey with fans.
“There are some things that they don’t know about me. People say I’m an inspiration to them. I said, ‘Well, if that’s the case, let me just go ahead and write what I’ve been through and how good God has been to me, and let me share it with the world.’ I’m still on my journey, and I’m curious to know how everything’s going to end up. But I’m on this journey right now, and I just want people to go along with me.”
On stage, Wilson announces himself as someone who’s both old school and new school — terms he prefers not to use in conversation.
“I like to keep the fans who have been with me a long time satisfied, and for those on the other side of the coin, the hip-hop, urban, gospel, whatever, I give them something as well. It keeps me well-rounded. It keeps me in front of everybody’s audience, especially hip-hop and pop.”
Younger artists like Snoop Dogg and West, who’ve featured Wilson on their songs, recognized Wilson’s cross-generational appeal.
“I have that gift,” he says. “That’s probably one of the reasons I’m so relevant right now.”
Still, Wilson insists he’s not jumping at every chance to collaborate with hip-hop artists.
“I’m right here at the top of the bridge. I’m not running down there to do hip-hop. I’m not running over there to do these certain genres of music. I’m Uncle Charlie. I’m the guy that everybody is looking for. I’m standing at the top of the bridge, and I’ll be waiting there if you want me to sing on your record. I’m not running over there where you are.”
Snoop Dogg appears on “Infectious,” a song on “Forever Charlie,” while Shaggy brings his reggae stylings to “Unforgettable.” “My Favorite Part of You,” Wilson’s latest single from the album, will be released shortly, along with a new video. Going forward, there’ll be no shortage of new music from Wilson. “I record music all the time,” Wilson said. “Every day I’m on the road touring, and we’re in rooms recording. I stay ahead of the game. I could release records every day besides my album if I wanted to. I just record them and hold onto them until it’s time to release them.”
On tour, meanwhile, Wilson continues to leave everything out there on the stage.
“I give everything that I have,” Wilson says. “Every show is like my last show. That’s how I perform every single night, because I don’t know if it’s going to be my last. I give it everything I’ve got. I gave it all I had in the book. I gave everybody everything.”
CHARLIE WILSON performs on Saturday, June 6, at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. Tickets start at $55. Information: mohegansun.com.
