50 facts about Charlie Wilson, nine-time Grammy nominee and a showman extraordinaire

In addition to his nine Grammy nominations and the 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, Wilson was named Billboard's No. 1 Adult Artist in 2009 and received the BMI Icon Award in 2005. Learn 50 interesting things about Wilson.

1. Charlie Wilson is a nine-time Grammy nominee and a showman extraordinaire.

2. He is also a hit-making singer/songwriter whose second act is trumping his legendary first run.

3. Wilson is a co-founder of iconic funk trio the Gap Band

4. He wrapped 2014 with two Grammy nominations-Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song-for "Bound 2," his pairing with lead artist Kanye West.

5. Just weeks before P Music Group/RCA's Jan. 27 release of his sixth solo album, also titled Forever Charlie, Wilson locked in yet another hit with lead single, "Goodnight Kisses."

6. Wilson has had a grand total of 18 hits thus far including eight No. 1s, among them "My Love Is All I Have," "You Are," "Without You" and "There Goes My Baby."

7. Billboard relates in its review of "Goodnight Kisses": "Over snap-and-swing doo-wop-inspired production, the Gap Band co-founder sings sweetly about his loved one's smooches. At 61 years old, Wilson is still as convincing a romantic as ever."

8. Wilson's Forever Charlie collaborators include longtime P Music Group colleagues Gregg Pagani and Emile Ghantous. The latter, in tandem with Steve Daly and Keith Hetrick, comprise the P Music team "Cartoons," which produced four tracks on the new album.

9. Raised by a minister father and mother, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Gap Band hit the charts running in the late '70s and '80s with a string of hits including "Outstanding, "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," "Yearning For Your Love," "Early in the Morning" and "All of My Love." The group retired in 2010.

10. Working through the lows of drug and alcohol addiction, Wilson signed to Jive (folded into RCA in 2012) in 2004 after landing his first No. 1 Billboard Urban AC hit in 2000, "Without You."

11. His gold-certified Jive debut, 2005's Charlie Last Name Wilson, yielded a top 15 R&B single via the title track.

12. Uncle Charlie arrived in 2009, securing two Grammy nominations: Best R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the hit single "There Goes My Baby."

13. A year later, Wilson stepped back up to the plate with Just Charlie and his biggest hit to date, "You Are." Spending 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1, the song scored Grammy nods for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance.

14. That was followed in 2013 by Love, Charlie, which spun off the hit "My Love Is All I Have." 2014 found Wilson garnering yet another Grammy nomination for "If I Believe" in the Best Gospel Song category.

15. Wilson survived a bout with prostate cancer and became a spokesperson for the Prostate Cancer Foundation in 2008.

16. He is now cancer free and continues to use his stage as a platform to educate men and their families about the importance of yearly checkups and conversations with their health care providers. "I was honored to be a part of the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon last year," he states. "It's important to spread the word." "That's why I shout every night at my concerts because I thank God for allowing me to be here."

17. His creative relationship with "nephew" Snoop Dogg has morphed into collaborations with numerous contemporary hitmakers including Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Pharrell, R. Kelly and T-Pain.

18. In addition to his nine Grammy nominations and the 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, Wilson was named Billboard's No. 1 Adult Artist in 2009 and received the BMI Icon Award in 2005.

19. Charles Kent "Charlie" Wilson was born January 29, 1953. He is also known as Uncle Charlie.

20. He is an American R&B singer, songwriter, producer and the former lead vocalist for The Gap Band.

21. As a solo artist he has been nominated for nine Grammy awards and three NAACP Image Awards, received a 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, and was a recipient of a BMI Icon Award in 2005.

22. On June 30, 2013, BET honored Wilson with a Lifetime Achievement Award that was presented to him by Justin Timberlake.

23. The BET tribute performances included renditions of Wilson's songs performed by India Arie ("There Goes My Baby"), Jamie Foxx ("Yearning for Your Love"), and Stevie Wonder ("Burn Rubber") but it was not until Wilson himself took to the stage at the request of Timberlake to perform his Grammy-nominated song "You Are" and then transition into a medley of hit songs performing alongside Timberlake and surprise guests Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams that Wilson stole the show during the youth oriented program.

24. Charlie Wilson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was the son of the Rev. Oscar Wilson, a minister in the Church of God in Christ.

25. With his older brother Ronnie and younger brother Robert, Wilson often sang in church before their father's Sunday sermons, accompanied on piano by their mother.

26. He also sang in his junior high school's choir, which was a precursor to his musical career with The Gap Band and later his solo career.

27. From the start of his career, Charlie and his brothers, Robert and Ronnie, helped define and popularize an upbeat form of funk music that was infectious and lasting with their group The Gap Band.

28. The group's songs like "Outstanding", "Party Train", "Yearning for Your Love", "Burn Rubber on Me", "You Dropped a Bomb on Me", and "Oops Upside Your Head" are among their immense catalog and some of the most sampled songs in music history. After 15 albums The Gap Band announced their retirement in 2010.

29. Michael Paran persuaded Wilson to embark on a solo career. Paran, who is CEO of P Music Group, was responsible for rebranding the GAP Band in 1997 and repositioning them as one of the top R&B touring groups, has managed Wilson for the past 14 years.

30. Paran and Wilson independently released Wilson's first solo album Bridging the Gap, which scored them Wilson's first No. 1 Billboard Urban Adult Contemporary single, "Without You.".

31. In 2004, Paran successfully negotiated a multi-album deal for Wilson with Jive Records.

32. The first album from that deal, Charlie, Last Name Wilson, debuted in the fall of 2005 featuring production from various hit-making producers including R. Kelly, Justin Timberlake, will.i.am, the Underdogs, Kay Gee, and The Platinum Brothers.

33. The album, which was certified gold by the R.I.A.A., produced the hit single, "Charlie, Last Name Wilson". Since then Charlie has consistently topped the Billboard Urban Adult Contemporary chart with singles from his follow up albums through P Music/Jive Records.

34. His 2009 CD, Uncle Charlie, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and received two 2010 Grammy nominations: Best R&B Album and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male for "There Goes My Baby".

35. In December 2010, Just Charlie, was released and spawned the hit single "You Are" which held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Urban Adult Contemporary chart for 13 weeks as well as 15 weeks consecutively on the Mediabase chart.

36. "You Are" earned two 2012 Grammy nominations, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song, giving Wilson, his wife Mahin, and their fellow songwriters Dennis Bettis, Carl M. Days, Jr., and Wirlie Morris their first nomination as songwriters together.

37. Wilson has been a vocalist and contributor/collaborator to dozens of songs in the hip hop, rap, and R&B communities.

38. Wilson appeared on The Biggie Duets together with R. Kelly on the song "Mi Casa".

39. He has worked with Snoop Dogg on numerous projects.

40. According to Wilson's website, rapper Snoop Dogg nicknamed him "Uncle Charlie".

41. Snoop and his wife, Shante, renewed their vows in April 2008 at Wilson's 20 acre ranch outside of Los Angeles, CA.

42. The event inspired the music video to Wilson's hit "There Goes My Baby", which featured Snoop and his wife and was given to them as a gift symbolizing their relationship.

43. He was also featured on the Grammy-nominated single "Beautiful" (together with Pharrell) from Snoop's 2002 album Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss.

44. In 2008, Wilson participated and performed on the ABC Television Special, America United: Supporting Our Troops, which was taped at Camp Pendleton, in California.

45. Wilson has made it his personal mission to support American troops, especially in the Middle East.

46. He and his band have traveled to Kuwait and Iraq four times, taking his critically acclaimed, high energy show to dozens of bases throughout both countries and giving American military members a "little taste of home."

47. Wilson's November 2011 trip was in response to a special request by the U.S. Armed Forces for Wilson to return to the Middle East and perform at five bases in Kuwait for the thousands of troops stationed there.

48. Wilson married Mahin Tat in 1995.

49. Wilson and his wife met that year, when she was his social worker during his time in a drug rehabilitation program.

50. Clean since 1995, Wilson's cocaine and alcohol addictions had led to his becoming homeless and sleeping on the streets of Hollywood Boulevard between 1993 and 1995.

Source: charliewilsonmusic.com, Wikipedia.org