Frank Wilson Biography

Frank Wilson wrote or co-wrote a long list of hits, including “Love Child,” “I’m Living in Shame,” “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” and “Stone Love” (Supremes); “All I Need” (Temptations); “Still Water Love” and “It’s the Way Nature Planned It” (Four Tops); “Boogie Down,” “Keep on Truckin’,” and “Darling Come Back Home” (Eddie Kendricks); “You Made Me So Very Happy” (Brenda Holloway, Blood, Sweat & Tears); “Chained” (Marvin Gaye); and “Whole Lot of Shakin’ in My Heart” (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). Hal Davis introduced Wilson to Motown. One of his first Jobete cuts (Motown’s publishing arm) was Stevie Wonder’s “Castles in the Sand” (1964). His “I’m So Thankful” (1965) hit for the Ikettes, it had a similar beat and simplicity to the Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go.” Ike and Tina Turner cut Wilson’s “Somebody, Somewhere Needs You,” like the Ikettes’ single, it was a Jobete copyright that wasn’t originally released on a Motown label. He authored a whole slew of should-have-been-hits: “I Can’t Turn Around” and “I’m Gonna Hold on Long as I Can” (the Marvelettes); “I’ve Got to Find It” (Brenda Holloway); and “Darling Come Back Home,” “Honey Brown,” “Hooked on Your Love,” and “Son of Sagittarius” (Eddie Kendricks). Frank Wilson’s, the singer, only Motown single, “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” (1965), is a prized item among collectors, only three copies are known to exist. Motown released it on their Soul subsidiary without fanfare or promotion. A duet featuring Wilson and Chris Clark performing “Do I Love You” escaped Motown’s vaults sometime in the ’90s. For years, writers have Siamesed him with another Frank Wilson — also with a Hal Davis connection — who sang with the Remarkables and worked with Barry White in the ’70s. The talented singer/songwriter/producer is getting more gloss and press than ever, including appreciation shows in the United Kingdom (2000/2001), where Northern soul fans revere him. He left Motown in 1976 and became a born again Christian. He leads national and international ministries with his wife Bunny. Both are noted speakers. The Motown alumni concentrates on writing books, not songs these days.