Rev. John "Bootsie" Wilson, the last surviving member of influential soul group the Silhouettes died at age 69. Wilson, a former lead singer who joined the group in 1961, passed away Monday, Sept. 21, at his Spartanburg, S.C. home after a battle with cancer and a kidney ailment, according to his wife Pauline.
A Philadelphia native, Wilson joined the group -- best known for its 1958 chart-topper 'Get a Job' -- after the departure of the group's original lead singer. Although Wilson didn't sing on the original version of the song, which was one of the first R&B tunes to cross over to the pop charts, he did re-record and release the song under the moniker of the New Silhouettes in 1968.
During his tenure with the doo wop group, Wilson recorded notable songs like 1962's 'Move on Over (To Another Land),' 1963's 'Rent Man' and the 1968 tune 'Not Me Baby.' The latter became a 1970s dance hit in the UK and ranked among Wilson's personal favorites with the group.
Although 'Get a Job' remained the band's most enduring hit, Elaine Lewis, the widow of Wilson's bandmate Richard Lewis -- who wrote that song -- told the Associated Press that the Silhouettes hit their creative stride under Wilson's lead. "John's songs, I think, were the best ones," she said. "Somehow 'Get a Job' got all the attention, but clearly John was the best lead singer they had, hands down. He had a marvelous voice."
"He was so proud of that part of his life, his life as a Silhouette," Lewis added. "He was so nostalgic about that period of his life, and he missed his fallen comrades."
After his career with the Silhouettes, Wilson moved to South Carolina, became an African Methodist Episcopal pastor and served at eight churches since the '70s. His funeral was held Saturday.
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