Overview
- Tong Wilson, the bassist and songwriter who helped found Hot Chocolate, died at his home in Trinidad, a death his daughter disclosed Friday on Facebook.
- His son, Danny Wilson, shared a tribute that highlighted the knockbacks, interviews, tours and meticulous sales notes captured in the musician’s 1970–71 diaries.
- Reports differ on his age at death, with several outlets citing 78 while his son described him as 89 in a public post.
- Wilson co-wrote the 1975 hit You Sexy Thing, which peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 in the UK.
- Hot Chocolate is widely credited as one of the first predominantly Black British groups to score successive hits in the US, and no cause of death has been made public.