Steve Wilson was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a founding member of the band The Bushmen and spent many nights hanging out at Danceland Ballroom. Between concerts and spending his weekly allowance on the latest records at Hiltbrunner’s music store, he developed a lifetime love for music and a solid knowledge of rock and roll.

He spent most of his adult life in the music business. Starting in 1976 with record distributor Pickwick International in Minneapolis where he served a sales rep handling the record departments for the Dayton’s Department store chain.

He started at K-tel International in 1985 and became Vice President of A & R. While there he compiled and produced hundreds of releases for the retail and TV markets. Notable packages include “Southern Fried Rock”, “Son of Super Bad”, “Goofy Greats”, “TV Stars Sing”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “Those Wonderful Instrumentals”, “Biker Rock”, “50’s Sock Hop”, “Get Up And Disco”, “Battle Of The Bands” and “Today’s Hit Country” (#24 on the Billboard Country Album chart). He oversaw the reissue of the Marshall Tucker Band’s first eight albums and produced their compilation discs “The Best of The Marshall Tucker Band: The Capricorn Years” and “Country Tucker”. He supplied the track listing for the Platinum selling “101 Greatest Country Hits” infomercial starring Eddie Rabbitt.

At K-tel he reactivated the Era label and produced or reissued releases by Jan & Dean, John Kay & Steppenwolf, Bobby Vee & The Shadows, Fever Tree, Gogi Grant, Mink Deville, Dorsey Burnette and Gypsy. He also produced the critically acclaimed 4 CD box set “The Brill Building Sound”.

In 1996 Wilson left K-tel to join a similar company called Simitar Entertainment. There he created the best-selling compilations “Disco Divas”, “Music To Shag By”, “Blues Next”, “Outlaw Country”, “Original Players Of Love”, and produced “Best of’s” by The Castaways, The Fendermen and Gary Toms Empire. He also produced the highly lauded “Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story”.

In 1999 Wilson accepted an offer to be Director of the jazz/blues label Cannonball Records. During his tenure there he signed or oversaw releases by Mick Taylor (ex-Rolling Stone), James Harman, Alberta Adams, Charles Walker among others. In 2001 Cannonball releases were nominated for five W.C. Handy Awards.

2001 Wilson returned to K-tel were he still works overseeing the K-tel music catalog and assisting in licensing music to movies, TV shows and commercials.

Steve Wilson was inducted into the Iowa Music Association’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.