John Frank Wilson (December 11, 1941 – October 4, 1991) was an American singer, the lead vocalist of

J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers were an American 1960s group best remembered for their 1964 million-selling song, " Last Kiss". Career The Cavaliers formed around 1955 with leader and guitarist Sid Holmes, bassist Lewis Elliott, saxophonist R ...

. Born in Lufkin, Texas, Wilson was inducted into the West Texas Music Hall Of Fame.

Career

Wilson joined the Cavaliers after his discharge from

Goodfellow Air Force Base Goodfellow Air Force Base is a nonflying United States Air Force base located in San Angelo, Texas, United States. As part of Air Education and Training Command, Goodfellow's main mission is cryptologic and intelligence training for the Air Forc ...

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...

, in 1962. The Cavaliers' first chart hit was "

Last Kiss "Last Kiss" is a song written by Wayne Cochran and first recorded by Cochran in 1961 for the Gala label. Cochran's version failed to do well on the charts. Cochran re-recorded his song for the King label in 1963. It was revived by J. Frank Wi ...

", a song written by

Wayne Cochran Talvin Wayne Cochran (May 10, 1939 – November 21, 2017) was an American singer, known for his outlandish outfits and platinum blond pompadour hairstyle. He was sometimes referred to as The White Knight of Soul. Cochran is best known toda ...

, who had based the song on a car accident in

Barnesville, Georgia Barnesville is a city in Lamar County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,755, up from 5,972 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lamar County and is just outside of the Atlanta metropol ...

, near where he lived. The song, while only garnering minor success for Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders, found major success for the Cavaliers. "Last Kiss" became a hit in June 1964, it reached the top 10 in October of that year, eventually reaching number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. In October 1964, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' reported that Wilson had himself been involved in an auto accident near

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in Allen County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,579. It is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75, appr ...

, in which his 27-year-old

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, Sonley Roush, was killed, and Wilson was seriously injured. While J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers recorded many more songs, and "Last Kiss" was subsequently

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

successfully by

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

, the band charted with only one other song, "Hey, Little One", which reached number 85. Wilson, with or without the Cavaliers, continued to release records until 1978. He started working on an offshore oilfield in late 1970s and 1980s in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Wilson died on October 4, 1991, at the age of 49, from

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

References

External links

Yahoo bio
1941 births 1991 deaths Alcohol-related deaths in Texas American rhythm and blues singers Charay Records artists Jamie Records artists People from Lufkin, Texas Singers from Texas 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers {{US-singer-stub