Show and Tell (song) explained

Show And Tell
Cover:	Show_And_Tell_-_Al_Wilson.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Al Wilson
Album:	Show and Tell
B-Side:	Listen to Me
Released:	August 1973^[1]
Recorded:	1973
Genre:	Soul^[2] ^[3] pop
Length:	3:30
Label:	Rocky Road
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. ^[4]

Al Wilson version

A 1973 recording of the song by Al Wilson reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week on January 19, 1974; 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.^[5] Wilson's version also made #10 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1973-1974)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[6]	57
Canada RPM Top Singles^[7]	7
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary^[8]	21
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles^[9]	10
U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[10]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)	Position
Canada^[11]	58
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	15
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening^[12]	28
U.S. Billboard R&B	84
U.S. Cash Box ^[13]	1

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.^[14]
• 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".

External links

• Lyrics of this song

Notes and References

1. Web site: Al Wilson - Show And Tell. 23 April 2021. 45cat.com.
2. Book: Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. Don. Breithaupt. Jeff. Breithaupt. October 15, 1999. Shafts: Macho Soul. 98. St. Martin's Griffin. 031214704X.
3. Web site: Tom . Breihan . The Number Ones: Al Wilson's "Show And Tell". . May 3, 2019 . Sugary pop ballads like “Show And Tell” were nothing new...And Wilson sounds good on the song, giving a thoroughly professional soul-singer performance.. June 19, 2023.
4. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn

   . Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Joel Whitburn . 2002 . Record Research . 161.

5. [Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974]
6. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian)

   . David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 340.

7. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 1974-02-02 . 2024-08-04.
8. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 1974-02-16 . 2024-08-04.
9. Web site: 1974: The Top 100 Soul/Funk/Disco Singles - RYM/Sonemic. Rate Your Music. 23 April 2021.
10. Web site: Top 100 1974-01-26 . . 2016-07-27 .
11. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2016-10-08.
12. http://www.45cat.com/45_list_view_record.php?li=2168 Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1974
13. Web site: Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974 . . 2015-07-16 . 2012-07-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120725004901/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html . dead .
14. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn

    . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 90.