Interview: Tony Wilson Stops By Studio 889 Ahead of Special James Brown Tribute

By Kathia Dawson, Urban Coordinator

56 years ago, the devastating assassination of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. set in motion passion-filled riots from coast to coast. With tension between Boston police and Black citizens already in effect, city officials struggled to find a way to prevent riots from ensuing in Downtown. They asked James Brown to perform on live television to keep people indoors, and the Godfather of Soul delivered.

Friday, April 5th, 1968 has been labeled the day that James Brown saved Boston. The event wasn’t originally going to be televised, and was instead expected to take place in the Boston Garden with an estimated full-capacity—or 15,000-person—attendance. Because of the proximity of the concert to the tragic death of King the previous day, though, the mayor of Boston was worried about protests turning destructive or violent. He and Tom Wilkinson, the only Black councilman at the time, proposed that the performance be televised on WGBH’s program “Say Brother.” 

Brown agreed, demonstrating a level of dedication to his community that helped prevent riots, and injuries by default. His revolutionary energy channeled through TV sets around Boston, and spread a word of peace in a time when peace was needed. The juxtaposition of his lively stage presence with the quiet streets is something that no one else could have accomplished. His words and energetic, dance-filled performance impacted people for years to come.

An accomplished Brown inspired his protégé, Tony Wilson, who met James Brown as a young child, and officially met him in 2002, on the set of the short action-comedy film Beat The Devil. Wilson has gone on to perform internationally by the stage name “The Young James Brown.” 

On April 5th, 2024, Wilson led an 11-piece band at Dorchester’s historic Strand Theater for a moving tribute, 56 years to the day of when James Brown saved Boston.

(Read a review of the show here).

Before this performance, musician Tony Wilson had a chance to sit down with WERS/ERS+ Urban Coordinator Kathia Dawson to share more about himself and his inspirations. 

 

LET’S START WITH YOU; WHO IS TONY WILSON? 

TW: Tony Wilson is an entertainer. I grew up in Chicago, stayed away from all the bad things, you know— got out of school every day and went to the Chicago Park districts to tumble and springboard and chess, ping pong and all that kind of stuff. And so I had a very good life. I just grew up in music… My sisters are professional tap dancers, instructors, so I came up under the music part. 

 

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A SINGER? 

TW: God, I've been singing since I was eight, but I really got into it when I was 10 years old. But I was so impressed with dancers at that time, so I was a dancer first. And then when the Jackson 5 came out and really blew up, then I started singing, and had that same kind of singing voice Michael had. But I always liked to carry snakes and all that kind of stuff with me, so that kept the girls away. So that was that kind of guy I was. Just a regular kid going and walking to— swamps, fields, catching frogs… I was a block guide and hung out on the block.

 

OTHER THAN JAMES BROWN AND MICHAEL JACKSON, WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES? 

TW: Of course God. I would say if we’re talking about people who aren’t singers: James Baldwin. And, those kinds of people inspired me. And I always was inspired by Black history, you know, the heroes and she-roes like Black inventors. Because they didn't teach that in school. So we found out Dr. Drew invented the traffic light, and also blood plasma, and he was denied a blood transfusion. He's the one who invented it. That turned things around for me. But I spent most of my time as a child and teenager fishing and doing those kinds of things.

When I grew up earlier, I had a chance to work with Michael Jackson for three years. I was a decoy for him as well as in the movie, The Wiz, as an understudy. And I went on to do a lot of things [which] I could just name… 

I’m not an impersonator, [and I’m] not trying to copy anybody, because I have my own style. So, after I got out of the Michael phase, after being on The Oprah Winfrey Show, I went on to the James Brown School of Performance. That was with a band and where I think the separation between myself and other entertainers—who they want to call impersonators—began. They [looked] like someone, but they didn't know how to sing. So I was like the only entertainer that actually [could] sing back in the day. 

That catapulted me to the attention of other celebrities, including my godmother who happens to be none other than Martha of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The Chi-Lites I also received attention from. So, my mission has always been as you know, take all the cursing out of the music and all that kind of thing. 

So I just came up with James Brown, did some movies, and have worked with one of the biggest stars in London, Gary Oldman (an English actor and filmmaker). He's like the biggest hit in Britain. I have my thing called thestrongestlinksavesboston.com. And we're putting the music teachers back into the elementary and middle schools because they took it out, I have no idea why. Yeah, I spoke with Senator Eldridge who's actually coming to my show. And he said it was money. And it's very [impactful what] he said— these kids are bringing knives and guns to school. 

 

WHAT’S THIS WEBSITE? 

TW: It's called thestrongestlinksavesboston.com… Our mission is to free the innocent. A person often wants to be acquitted, but they were totally innocent. They went to jail at 18, stayed in prison for 35 years. That's a long time. And then when they found the person that did it, it doesn't matter that the state gives them lots of money, because you got 400 men and women and children that were put in jail at 16, 17 and 18 years of age. They’ve been incarcerated for 25 years. They’ve missed out on [their] whole life. 

 

WHY IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT TO YOU? 

TW: ​​It's important because… I grew up having opportunities, fun things to do. I didn't have to worry about going to the YMCA or Boys and Girls Club… For me, it was like, it's free. It’s the Chicago Park District, it's in every community. We had tumbling, basketball, dodgeball, the girls had tap dance, which my sister was an instructor. You got modern dance to intermediate, and then the ones who really know how to dance. So it was an opportunity for them to learn… dance, volleyball, football, you know, all of these different sports that you [can] go into. They had everything for everybody, and it was so cool. We didn't hang out on the street corners. And I know that that's not in a lot of communities. The trouble with Boston is: they don't have too many music programs, and if they do have music programs, [you have to pay for them]. 

When I was working as a music teacher, I taught master classes in China. And those are the ones [where] you can go to private school and they’ll [have you] pay $60,000 for a whole year. But what about these Black and brown children? What about the children who live in poverty and other neighborhoods? Those are ones that really need [music education]. Because they look to their bigger brother and they are too busy looking at hip hop and all that stuff. And then they can have guns and knives and think that is cool? And all that stuff starts on a school bus or after school stop. But, you know, we can’t do without music. Music surrounds us; it's a universal language. We live it, we breathe it, and I really don't think we can live without it. So how can these little kids?

 

WHAT DREW YOU TO IMPERSONATING MICHAEAL JACKSON AND JAMES BROWN, AND WHEN DID IT START FOR YOU? 

TW: When I was 10 years old, I jumped on the stage with James Brown at a concert. And of course, I started hearing the Jackson Five, and when I heard them, I wanted to sing and dance like them. So I grew up following everything they did. Just kept on doing it, doing talent shows and contests all over the place. My mom and dad weren't into the music. My mother worked for the IRS, and my father was an Air Force pilot, you know, so I didn't have that music family to help. [That’s] until I met my godmother Martha Reeves and she changed my life. 

So I just kept at my craft and kept doing music. And when I got to be a little older, that's when Don King, the boxer promoter, contacted me and said, “We need you and Michael likes you.” They needed a decoy. I did that for a while. And then, you know, James Brown was released from prison in 1991. And Butch Lewis, a boxing promoter, produced the pay-per-view event “James Brown: Living in America.” So it happened in ’91. James Brown took me [under] his wing. He knew that Martha Reeves was my godmother, and we were inseparable from that time. 

I knew I wanted to be an artist that did clean lyrics, you know. I love hip hop and all that, but I just think they go too far lyrics-wise.

ARE THERE CERTAIN MUSIC PERIODS OF HIS CAREER THAT STAND OUT TO YOU MORE THAN OTHERS? 

TW: Yeah, as a young Black boy in the ’60s, you know, we always used to be called this and that. So when he says, “Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud,” that made everybody be proud to walk around [in our skin]. 

 

CAN YOU PAINT A PICTURE OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO MEET JAMES BROWN FOR THE FIRST TIME? 

TW: [I was] at the Regal Theater in Chicago, in 1968. My babysitter took me there. And at that time, you could go into a club if you were with your parents. So I go into this place, and I'm with my babysitter, and James Brown was up there. And some other kids got up to dance and [then] I went up there on the stage. And I was just doing my little thing, dancing and everything. Nobody pushed me off the stage. 

As a matter of fact, I did that twice. That was ’68 And the other was ’71 [at] the High Chaparral in Chicago. 

Then, he found out that one of the Chi-Lites was my godfather. So I always kept in touch with him. Anytime he came to Chicago or Detroit I was there.

 

SO WHAT WAS JAMES BROWN'S REACTION TO SEEING YOU PERFORM FOR THE FIRST TIME? 

TW: The first time he actually saw me perform was when he got out of jail in ‘91. And they did a pay-per-view. At that time, they were running a contest with the best guys. And so I'm up there on the stage. He didn't look like he liked me at first but then [he] told his wife to come get me. She told me to get off the stage, she said “You're a professional. This is a contest.” So what they did at the after party at L.A.’s Wiltern Theater on June 10th was [they] had me perform for MC Hammer and guests at the tent party. She said, “this is where you need to be,” and then they paid me. 

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY ANECDOTES THAT DESCRIBE HIM AS A PERSON? 

TW: Which one? …He has three personalities. It all depends on who you are. 

Let me give you a good example: if you're a band member, it's a totally different thing. He’d look at your shoes, you know, shirt. He’d be like, “I don't care if we ain't got a show,” if he saw you out and you're not super sharp… ‘uh oh’, you were in trouble. Okay, that's character one. 

Character two is that he knows what he wants when he wants it. 

Character number three, all hell breaks loose. If you’re not paying attention, if you miss a beat, he’d go crazy… he wasn’t mean, he was a militant. If you’re a band member; business guy… you cannot call him James. You want to call him Mr. Brown. If you called him James, the meeting [would be] over, and that happened in front of me. 

 

IS THERE A LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED FROM HIM THAT STUCK WITH YOU FOR ALL THESE YEARS? 

TW: Yeah: get your money first. 

 

WHAT CAN THE AUDIENCE EXPECT FOR TOMORROW’S PERFORMANCE? 

TW: High energy. Fasten your seatbelts; we hit it right from the beginning. We got three great acts: first Chanel Sugar, The Twins, they're gonna sing two songs, Leon Bill, everybody knows he's gonna do “A Change Is  Gonna Come,” and then we have Tony Lenz, the one blues singer. And then the James Brown Band is gonna hit from 8:00 p.m., nonstop all the way to 9:20. High energy, flips, spins, everything. 

 

THIS IS A BIG DEAL, YOU’RE PERFORMING A TRIBUTE TO THE GODFATHER OF SOUL AND REMEMBRANCE OF THE NIGHT JAMES BROWN SAVED BOSTON, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE COME OUT OF THIS PERFORMANCE? 

TW: That   lot of people join in and sponsor [the] mission to put these musical teachers back into schools, especially in the elementary and kindergarten schools. And if we can do that, that's something that will trickle down worldwide…So yeah, the mission is to do that. And that's why I call it “the strongest link saves Boston.” 

 

AND WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AFTER THIS PERFORMANCE? 

TW: I'm going to McDonald's. No (laughs). We're hoping that you all come out to Menotomy Grill & Tavern in Arlington at 9 p.m. to hear the full band. We're gonna have a fun dinner, and then I'm going to just get some rest for the show tomorrow.