It was always reported that Jackie Wilson had 7 children- 4 with his first wife, Freda Hood, and 3 more with his second wife (and also Sam Cooke’s ex-girlfriend), Harlean Harris, but there was an 8th child that no one knew about…probably not even Mr. Wilson himself. The guy was actually a professional Jackie Wilson impersonator because of his extreme similarities to Jackie and it wasn’t until years later that he discovered who he really was. Here are the bizarre details around that:[quote_box_center]
Although Bobby Brooks Wilson was born in New York, as an infant he somehow wound up abandoned and in the foster system of South Carolina where he was given the name of Bobby Brooks by the state. Growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, Bobby survived a childhood filled with trauma. He was stricken with many childhood diseases ranging from rickets to bronchitis which resulted in his spending the years between age three and six either in a body cast from his waist to his feet or wearing weighted shoes. The continuing trauma left Bobby unable to enjoy life like other children of his age, so he found solace in listening to music.
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Fast forward to his adult years and Bobby had long ago confronted his birth mother, Willie Mae Benton, to learn the identity of his father. Unfortunately Benton, who had once been a party girl, was now an aging alcoholic with three other children. Repeatedly, she told Bobby she was unsure of who might have been his father. Bobby recalls that matters almost came to a head once when he sent her a photograph of himself as Jackie Wilson and she tore it up. “Why would you send me a photo of him?” she later asked Bobby. “But it isn’t Jackie Wilson, it is me,” replied Bobby. She angrily retorted “Don’t ever send me any pictures of Jackie Wilson.”
Bobby remembers that when he told her about the birth of his oldest son she was drunk and asked him for money. Finally, he once again confronted her and asked about her relationship with Jackie Wilson. “Did you know him?” asked Bobby. This time his mother admitted that she had “hung out” with him. Bobby was encouraged and asked “Could he be my father?” “I don’t know” was her response. Willie Mae Benton was 14 back when she “hung out” with Jackie Wilson, but she already looked as if she was 25. However it was not until Bobby met the legendary songwriter Billy Raquel Davis, co‐writer with Berry Gordy, Jr. of Jackie Wilson’s classic song hits, that he learned the truth.
Bobby was at Bally’s in Atlantic City portraying Jackie Wilson during the three‐week run of a “Legends In Concert” show (a show where Bobby was a professional impersonator of Jackie Wilson) when one evening the Four Tops decided to…
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