Precious Wilson (born in Spanish Town,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

) is a Jamaican

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer.

Background

Precious Wilson started out as a backing singer for the all-male group

Eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

. The group enjoyed their first minor success when they won a talent competition in 1975, and then went on to record the song "Let Me Take You Back in Time". Shortly after, the lead singer left the group, and Precious Wilson stepped forward to front the band. The group relocated to Germany in 1976. The following year while on the road touring in Germany, Eruption was introduced to German producer

Frank Farian Frank Farian (born Franz Reuther; 18 July 1941) is a German record producer, musician, singer and songwriter, who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequently created voc ...

who booked them to work with

Boney M Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

as their backing band, and as their support act on Boney M's first European tour. Frank Farian then went on to sign them to Boney M.'s label,

Hansa Records Hansa Records (also known as Hansa, Hansa Musik Produktion or Hansa International) was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany. Profile The label's most successful act commercially was the German-based band Boney M. with m ...

, Farian released the single "Party Party" but it was their disco cover version of

Ann Peebles Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are " I Can't Stand the Rain", which she wrote with her husband ...

' " I Can't Stand the Rain" from their first album which broke big, giving them a UK No. 5 hit and a US No. 18 hit. After a second album and another hit single with

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

's " One Way Ticket" (UK #9), Precious Wilson left the group to pursue her solo career.

Solo career

Wilson's debut single as a solo artist was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Sam & Dave's " Hold On I'm Coming", released in August 1979. Produced by

and set to a funky disco-beat, the single reached No. 45 in the Dutch charts. The song was also included in

's fourth album '' Oceans of Fantasy'' which also yielded a guest performance by Wilson on the opening track "Let It All Be Music". She co-wrote several tracks, including the title song of her debut album ''We Are on the Race Track'', also produced by Farian, was completed during 1980 on Hansa Records. It was released in October, heralded by the single "Cry to Me" which Wilson performed on TV, backed by the band that she created called Sky Train. The single reached number 3 in Switzerland. The album's second single, "We Are on the Race Track", reached No. 11 in Switzerland in early 1981. In October 1981, she released a cover version of " I Need You" which peaked at No. 6 in Switzerland. In Germany, it reached No. 39. In the summer of 1982, the electro-pop track "I Don't Know" was released, followed by her second album ''All Coloured in Love''. The album was released with a different track selection in the UK, Italy and France under the name ''Red Light'' followed by several different single releases in the various territories. Hot on the heels of the then

Aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cel ...

craze and Farian's success with the album ''Aerobic Fitness Dancing'', the theme song "Let's Move Aerobic (Move Your Body)" was rush-released with Wilson's vocals in March 1983. Her third album ''Funky Fingers'', consisting of two side-long medleys of soul standards, was released in December 1983. In 1985, she signed with Jive Records and teamed up with multiple producer teams for the album, including American songwriter,

Monte Moir Monte Moir (born September 10, 1958) is an American songwriter, producer and musician best known as the keyboardist of Morris Day's band The Time and songwriter of many notable American artists. Biography Monte Moir is the original and current ...

, a musician and songwriter, best known as a member of The Time. The following year Wilson released several singles; "I'll Be Your Friend" (a U.S.

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

R&B

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

), the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

from the Michael Douglas movie ''

The Jewel of the Nile ''The Jewel of the Nile'' is a 1985 American Action film#Action-adventure, action-adventure romantic comedy film directed by Lewis Teague and produced by Michael Douglas, who also starred in the lead role, and reunites with co-stars Kathleen Tur ...

'' (the sequel to the movie ''Romancing the Stone''), and "Nice Girls Don't Last" ("Love Can't Wait" in the U.S.). In 1986, she contributed to the charity album titled ''The Anti-Heroin Project: It's a Live-in World'', singing among others on the title track as well as on "Waiting in the Dark" and a song called "Something Better" with Kim Wilde and Darryl Pandy. A dance cover of

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

's " Only the Strong Survive" in 1987, produced by

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...

. Precious was one of the three background singers on the Elton John song "Duets for One" (1993). She has toured the former USSR on the invitation of the Soviet Cultural Ministry. The 55-date concert tour was arranged in six Soviet Republics, performing to full capacity audiences at each venue. She was the first black UK based female artiste to have undertaken such an extensive tour in the then USSR in 1988. After another of her co-written songs, was the single "I May Be Right 4U" in 1990. She achieved two small hit singles in the early 1990s with a cover of Sheila and B. Devotion's "Spacer" (a hit single in France, 1992) and a cover of Donna Summer's "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, ''I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to have ...

" (a UK No. 19 hit single with techno group Messiah, 1992). Since then, Wilson has been touring extensively internationally, and also frequently tours as Precious Wilson of Eruption. In 2017, Precious Wilson appeared on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

programme '' First Dates''. In 2018, Wilson was one of 12 co-authors of a book titled ''Mission Critical Messengers: How to Deliver a Difference''.

Discography

Albums

* ''On the Race Track'' (October 1980) * ''All Coloured in Love'' (July 1982) – released as ''Red Light'' in France and UK. * ''Funky Fingers'' (December 1983) * ''Precious Wilson'' (Jive Records, 1986)

Singles

References

External links

*
Precious Wilson Official site

Biography and discography at Rateyourmusic.com

Further discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Precious 1957 births Living people People from Spanish Town 20th-century Jamaican women singers Hansa Records artists