Frank Wilson is an African American former songwriter and record producer for Motown Records. He joined the company in 1965, working with Brenda Holloway. He went on to write and produce hit records for Brenda Holloway, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Eddie Kendricks, and more. Wilson also tried his hand at being a recording artist himself, recording the single “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” for release on the Motown subsidiary label ‘Soul.’ Supposedly 250 demo 45s were pressed, but by that time Frank Wilson decided he would rather focus on producing and had the demos trashed. Somehow at least two known copies survived, one of which fetched £15,000 (aprox. $28,000.00). Legendary Northern Soul DJ Russ Winstanly tracked down the single and a was able to secure a copy. He ‘covered’ the track as ‘Do I love you’ by Eddie Foster and it became the most loved and requested song on the scene. At the final ‘all nighter’ at Wigan Casino, Winstanly broke with tradition by making it the final song to be played there. Because of the scarcity of the original single and the high quality of the music, it has been championed as one of the rarest and most valuable records in history (along with other “impossible to find” records by such acts as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and the Five Sharps).
Wilson left Motown in 1976 and became a born-again Christian. He is now a minister, traveling and writing books with his wife Bunny Wilson, and is also involved in the production of gospel music as well. The only playable version sold last year for £25,750… |
