Since she burst onto the scene in the late 1960s, Spanky Wilson has performed and recorded with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Sammy Davis Jr., Lalo Schifrin, Jimmy Smith, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Pretty Purdie and Willie Bobo. Renowned as a soul, blues and jazz singer on both sides of the Atlantic, she has consistently released quality music for the past four decades, collaborating with some of the most talented and respected producers of the day. She has released seven albums under her own name, and tracks like “Sunshine of Your Love" and “You" have become DJ and collector favorites worldwide.
*Licensed from Tru Thoughts for simultaneous release in North America on Ubiquity Records
I'm Thankful sees her team up with Will Holland of The Quantic Soul Orchestra to produce a stunning collection of 21st Century jazz, funk, big band and soul music. Holland had been looking for Wilson for a couple of years, when a journalist he met in France offered to hook the two of them up. “He couldn't describe to me what kind of music it was so I had to tell him my passion was jazz and blues, but asked him to send me whatever music he had in mind," says Wilson. “I worked on a track and they liked it - so that was a good start."
Collaborating in 2005 on two tracks for the third Quantic album, Mishaps Happening, this positive experience led the duo to decide to write an album together. Months of work culminated in a week-long recording session in Los Angeles and Holland recruited some of the funk-soul scene's finest players to help him realize his vision, including Todd Simon on trumpet and Phil Ranelin on trombone.
“It was difficult to grasp at first, but I sang all the R&B hits back in the day when they came out. I loved songs by people like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, etc, so this music was not new for me," explains Wilson. “To me this is not really R&B, and my daughter says it's R&B but with a new lick! Will gave me some encouragement but honestly I'm never happy with what I do! I just can't wait to do it live, that's when it all comes to life," she adds.
Wilson was born, raised and living in Philadelphia until 1967, when she moved to Los Angeles. In the mid-1980s she moved to France spending the next 15 years singing jazz in Paris before returning to Los Angeles, CA in 2000. The name Spanky Wilson, is the one she has used since being a young kid. For acting up she would receive a spanking (possibly on a daily basis!) and her father gave her the mischievous name which stuck, in fact she apparently prefers it over her real name.
Quantic's latest solo album, An Announcement To Answer, has been hailed across the board as his best and most accomplished. With this in mind, the prospect of a new Quantic Soul Orchestra album is an exciting one for fans of raw, impassioned funk music - more so when you consider that, this time, the star of the show will be Spanky Wilson. With combined sales of 50,000 and counting, the first two QSO albums were a revelation for the UK funk music scene. Their popularity both in the UK and in America helped launch the solo career of Alice Russell and cemented the reputation of Will Holland as a talented composer and arranger as well as one of today's most prolific producers. An extended period of touring culminated in a triumphant set at Glaston bury 2005, when the QSO filled an empty tent with a crowd of around 8000 awestruck festival-goers.
“I was shocked by this new found interest from new young folks in me," says Wilson. “I have never been to England and as far as I knew none of my music was there. Will had told me that some of my tracks had appeared on and I was so surprised. It's hard for me to believe. I still have to get used it."
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