Randy Wilson
Oakland, California, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
I heard this great song on the Lee and Andrea Morning Show on V101.1 called “Life Goes On”. I thought it was a new song by Luther Vandross but it seemed to have more Soul than I remember him having and then of course I remembered that sadly he is no longer with us. So of course I was insanely curious so I looked online and found out the guy’s name is Randy Wilson and it’s a new single off his album “Up Close And Personal” called “Life Goes On”. I picked it up off of itunes, here is the link. From what I can tell this is the first single off the album but the album isn’t out yet. I’ll be keeping my eye out for when it comes out because if the rest of the album is as good as this song then I’ll be in heaven. - Eve Lalngdon
R&B SINGER RANDY WILSON’S
REAL LIFE ROMANTIC BREAK-UP
FUELS NEW SINGLE “LIFE GOES ON”
Long Distance Truck Driver Takes A Third Stab At A Music Career
Oakland, CA: Oakland native Randy Wilson is enjoying a bittersweet career revival with the forthcoming Urban AC radio single “Life Goes On” (Kingdom Records). “That’s a true story,” Wilson explains of the storyline of a man coming home to find his woman has deserted him. “I had a couple of women at the time. I had a baby’s mama and I had a girlfriend. My girlfriend just got tired of dealing with the baby mama situation after awhile. One day, I was on the other side of town and she called up and said, `I’m gone from the apartment and everything is gone.’ Just like that. I went back home and everything was gone. So, the next day, I was on my way to work and the words to that song began to pop into my head.”
Last year, Wilson began collaborating with producer Robert Anderson and finished the song that he had begun writing so many years ago. Now, with the help of music industry veteran Paul Mack Jr., Wilson is signed to Chicago-based Kingdom Records and launching the promising musical career he’s abandoned twice before. Throughout his musical life, Wilson, had been dogged by comparisons to the late Luther Vandross. When he was shopping a demo to Epic Records or Capitol Records back in the 1980s; it always came back to: “You’re too Lutherian.” Wilson says, “Every time I got close, I got pushed back because of my sound and I got discouraged and stopped doing music for a while.”
All of that is now in the past and Wilson & Anderson are wrapping production on the forthcoming CD “Up Close and Personal.” They recently cut a slick music video on “Life Goes” on at entrepreneur Ted & Connie Warner’s $2 million home in El Dorado Hills, CA and also at Sacramento’s Blush Ultra Lounge.
Growing up in Oakland, CA, Wilson’s first musical experience was fronting the R&B band, Bits and Pieces. After rejection by the major recording labels, Wilson founded his own Regal records label and released the single, “Something Inside.” Eventually, he began to open concerts for artists such as The O’Jays, Deniece Williams, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Toni! Tony! Tone!, Roy Ayers, and Stanley Clarke, among others. But the Luther comparisons continued to dig him when he tried to get his music played and he left the business again. Since then, he’s been working as a truck driver. “I’m on the highway a lot,” Wilson says. “Sometimes I’m tired and thinking of things to keep me motivated so I can get from one point to the next. That’s when I think of most of my songs. I used to think I couldn’t write unless I was in my truck.”
If Wilson’s recent performance and the rapturous response at Los Angeles’ Conga Room (with Stevie Wonder, Lenny Williams, and Jamie Fox in the house) is any gauge that the industry is now ready and willing to accept Wilson and his distinctive voice; then it may well be time to permanently park that big rig.
- Kingdom Records/Lizbritt Records
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
For singer and songwriter Randy Wilson, a career in music has been a dream deterred. This talented R&B artist is completing his second project Up Close and Personal for which he wrote all the songs, and is looking forward to the future. He is poised and ready to step back onto the music scene and realize his dreams of success.
Growing up in Oakland, California, his interest in music came about when he was 8 years old, along with football and baseball. A short while later his interest in music developed into a passion. His childhood friends older brother played drums in a group called Bits & Pieces. He was later chose to be the lead singer. The group performed at small nightclubs and hotels around the greater Bay Area for several years.
The band eventually parted ways and Randy decided to pursue his interest in recording. His musical influences were artists such as Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross. He also started his own small record label called Regal Records with help from a friend. Three months later he recorded his first single, Something Inside. The single was well received and garnered local radio play and also captured the attention of local promoter Paul Mack, Jr. He was soon opening shows for artists such as the Temptations, The OJay's, Denise Williams, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Toni! Tony! Tone!, Roy Ayers, Stanley Clarke and many others.
His 1987 CD project created a buzz with local promoters and radio so he began shopping for a record deal. Every major record label that Randy hit, the feedback was Wow, you sound just like Luther. While Randy loved that people said he sounded like Luther Vandross, his goal was for listeners to recognize and appreciate his own style of vocals.
Letting his passion, sensitivity and vulnerability set him apart, Randy began honing his signature sound with the support of his family and inspiration from his mother, who is also a singer. One day a friend passed him a tape with music that changed everything. He began writing his own lyrics about experiences with family, friends and the daily challenges of life. Love is such a powerful emotion and life is a gift from God. Music drives me, says Randy.
Randy recently shared the stage at the Conga Room in LA with R&B greats Stevie Wonder, Lenny Williams, DWayne Wiggins of Toni! Tony! Tone!, Jamie Fox and Raphael Saadiq in a benefit fundraiser and received kudos for his performance.
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