Al Wilson, a soul singer who had a No. 1 Billboard hit with 1973's Show and Tell, has died at age 68.

Wilson died Monday of kidney failure at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, Calif., according to his son, Tony Wilson.

The smooth-voiced Wilson began as a spiritual singer and had R&B hits in 1968 with The Snake and Do What You Gotta Do.

In 1973, he issued the album Weighing In, which had crossover appeal and included the hit Show and Tell, formerly recorded by Johnny Mathis.

Although his pop career faded at the end of the 1970s, Wilson kept singing and writing songs.

"He was always singing," his son said. "He would call me in the middle of the night with a new song that he had written."

Wilson was born June 19, 1939, in Meridian, Miss., and by the time he was 12, he had his own spiritual singing quartet.

After his family moved to San Bernardino in 1958, he found work as a mail carrier, office clerk and janitor.

He toured for four years with Johnny Harris and the Statesmen, then joined the navy, where he sang in the enlisted men's chorus.

Soul City signing brought success

After returning to civilian life, he toured the Los Angeles nightclub circuit, where he sang with R&B groups The Jewels and the Rollers and later played drums with the Souls.

In 1966, singer Johnny Rivers signed him to his Soul City label. That marked a change in Wilson's fortunes, in part because rock and pop had embraced the soul sound.

Wilson had several hits with Soul City, beginning with The Snake and including La La Peace Song and I've Got a Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again).

With 1979's Count the Days, Wilson scored his final chart hit, and he spent the next two decades touring clubs and lounges.

In 2001, he re-recorded his classic hits for the album Spice of Life.

Wilson is survived by his wife, Patricia; his son, Tony; daughters Alene Harris and Sharon Burley; a brother, Eddie Wilson; sisters Lottie Ross, Ruby Conyers and Maebell Cole; and 13 grandchildren.

With files from the Associated Press