Show and Tell (song)
{{About|the 1972 popular song|other songs with the same title|Show and tell (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Show And Tell
| cover = Show_And_Tell_-_Al_Wilson.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Al Wilson
| album = Show and Tell
| B-side = Listen to Me
| released = August 1973{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/30073|title=Al Wilson - Show And Tell|access-date=23 April 2021|website=45cat.com}}
| recorded = 1973
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
- Soul{{cite book|title= Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s|first1=Don|last1=Breithaupt|first2= Jeff|last2= Breithaupt|date= October 15, 1999|chapter= Shafts: Macho Soul|page= 98|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=031214704X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMPCAwAAQBAJ}}{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Al Wilson's "Show And Tell"|website= Stereogum |date= May 3, 2019 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2042220/the-number-ones-al-wilsons-show-and-tell/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= Sugary pop ballads like “Show And Tell” were nothing new...And Wilson sounds good on the song, giving a thoroughly professional soul-singer performance.|accessdate= June 19, 2023}}
- pop
| length = 3:30
| label = Rocky Road
| writer = Jerry Fuller
| producer =
| prev_title = Lodi
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = Touch and Go
| next_year = 1974
}}
"Show and Tell" is a popular song written by Jerry Fuller and first recorded by Johnny Mathis in 1972. This original version made it to #36 on the Easy Listening chart. {{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=161}}
Al Wilson version
A 1973 recording of the song by Al Wilson reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of January 19, 1974.[https://www.billboard.com/artist/al-wilson/chart-history/hsi/ Al Wilson, Billboard Hot 100 – Billboard.com.] Retrieved January 24, 2025. It sold over two million copies and was named a Cash Box #1 Single of the Year. Billboard ranked it as the #15 song for 1974.Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974 Wilson's version also made #10 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
For this version of the song, songwriter Jerry Fuller credits bassist Dennis Parker for the bass line.{{efn|name=james jamerson}} Parker reported that bandleader-arranger H. B. Barnum devised the bass line for the song's introduction.
=Chart history=
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==Weekly charts==
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==Year-end charts==
class="wikitable sortable" |
Chart (1974)
!Position |
---|
Canada{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.3893a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date= |access-date=2016-10-08}}
| style="text-align:center;"|58 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|15 |
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[http://www.45cat.com/45_list_view_record.php?li=2168 Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1974]
| style="text-align:center;"|28 |
U.S. Billboard R&B
| style="text-align:center;"|84 |
U.S. Cash Box {{cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html |title=Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974 |work=Cashbox Magazine |access-date=2015-07-16 |archive-date=2012-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725004901/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html |url-status=dead }}
| style="text-align:center;"|1 |
{{col-end}}
Other cover versions
- Engelbert Humperdinck in 1974 on his album My Love.
- Peabo Bryson had a #1 R&B hit with it in 1989. Bryson's rendition did not chart on the Hot 100.{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=90}}
- American singer/actress Vanessa Williams for her 2005 studio album Everlasting Love.
In popular culture
- The song was often played by Paul Shaffer and The CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman for the segment "Show & Tell".
- Wilson's version can be heard on TV show Malcolm in the Middle's episode "Forbidden Girlfriend".
Notes
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=james jamerson|For the Al Wilson version of the song AllMusic credits the bass performance to bassist James Jamerson; however other sources, including the songwriter Jerry Fuller, credit bassist Dennis Parker.}}
}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
}}
External links
- [https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/al-wilson/show-and-tell Lyrics of this song]
- {{YouTube|ItgAlRuafaU|Al Wilson – Show and Tell}}
{{Peabo Bryson}}
Category:Al Wilson (singer) songs
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Jerry Fuller
{{1970s-R&B-song-stub}}