| January 19th, 2006 05:32 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Wilson Pickett Dies of Heart Attack at 64
RESTON, Va. - Wilson Pickett, the soul pioneer best known for the fiery hits "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour," died of a heart attack Thursday, according to his management company. He was 64.
Chris Tuthill of the management company Talent Source said Pickett had been suffering from health problems for the past year.
A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Pickett — known as the "Wicked Pickett" — became a star with his soulful hits in the 1960s.
Soul singer 'Wicked' Wilson Pickett dead at 64
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran soul singer Wilson Pickett, known for such hits as "Mustang Sally" and "In the Midnight Hour," died on Thursday of a heart attack in Virginia, his manager said. He was 64.
Pickett, an Alabama native famed for his trademark screams, flaming delivery and flamboyant costumes, performed on a regular basis until about a year ago, when he began suffering from health problems, said his manager, Margo Lewis.
Dubbed "Wicked" Wilson Pickett by Jerry Wexler, the co-founder of Atlantic Records, where he enjoyed his greatest success, Pickett was one of the leading exponents of the hard-edged Memphis sound, a grittier alternative to the pop singles being churned out by Motown Records in Detroit.
Often recording with the house band of Memphis-based Stax Records, Booker T and the MGs, he enjoyed a long string of hits during the 1960s, including the R&B chart-toppers "634-5789," "Land of 1,000 Dances" and "Funky Broadway."
"In the Midnight Hour" was his breakthrough hit, transforming the relative unknown into a soul sensation virtually overnight in 1965. Pickett co-wrote the tune with MGs guitarist Steve Cropper in about an hour, and it spent a week atop the R&B singles chart in August of that year.
His luck ran out by the early 1970s, when he switched labels and suffered what he once described as a "career breakdown." An ambitious plan hatched in 1981 to tour as the "Soul Clan" with fellow R&B veterans Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Don Covay and Ben E. King quickly fizzled.
Somewhat bitter about his diminishing fortunes, he endured various domestic disputes, and got into trouble with the law during the 1990s for cocaine possession and drunk-driving.
"Don't you see the resentment that he's carrying, the pain that he's carrying? He gets into these problems and situations," Burke told Reuters in 1997. "It hurts me so bad when he has these problems, because I know there's an inner hurt there."
Born March 18, 1941 in Prattville, Alabama, Pickett grew up in a poor household with 10 brothers and sisters, an abusive mother, and a preacher grandfather who beat him whenever he sang secular songs. He moved up to Detroit in his mid-teens to live with his father, and quickly gravitated to the sounds being purveyed by the likes of local singers Jackie Wilson and Little Willie John.
Although he considered himself a gospel singer, Pickett was invited to join an R&B group called the Falcons. He wrote and sang lead on their 1962 hit "I Found A Love." He became a prolific songwriter and enjoyed a handful of modest solo hits including "If You Need Me," a tune that was also covered by both Burke and the Rolling Stones.
Pickett signed with Atlantic in 1964, and was sent down to record in Memphis after his first few singles disappeared without a trace. "Midnight Hour," one of three recorded in one night, became the subject of an authorship dispute in later years. Pickett told music writer Gerri Hirshey in her 1984 book "Nowhere to Run" that he deserved sole credit. Cropper told Reuters a decade later that Pickett was "completely crazy" and "had nothing to do with writing that music."
Although Pickett was best known for his urgent, propulsive tunes, he also earned acclaim with non-R&B fare, most notably his 1969 cover of the Beatles' "Hey Jude," which featured Duane Allman on guitar. He also recorded bold interpretations of such tunes as Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" and even make-believe group the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar."
Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and experienced a career renaissance that same year with the release of the movie "The Commitments," which revolved around a Dublin band that idolized him. He released his last album, the Grammy-nominated "It's Harder Now," in 1999.
He is survived by a fiancee, two sons and two daughters. A viewing will take place in Virginia next week, and then he will be interred with his mother in Louisville, Kentucky, his manager said.
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| January 19th, 2006 05:33 PM |
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| shakedhandswithkeith |
Sad news, RIP |
| January 19th, 2006 05:36 PM |
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| Water Dragon |
Very sad news indeed - there goes an opportunity to ask about his recording session with Brian & Bob Dylan back in Philly!
Godspeed, Senor Pickett |
| January 19th, 2006 05:45 PM |
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| kath |
dammit! another great one gone! |
| January 19th, 2006 05:51 PM |
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| Jumacfly |
RIP Wilson |
| January 19th, 2006 07:42 PM |
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| Prodigal Son |
This sucks. Oh well, he'd been ill lately so it's not a total shock. Another great bties the dust and yet Keith keeps rolling like a tumbling dice. I like all kinds of music (except opera, techno, most pop, twee old corny music, etc.) and have a deep affinity for soul. He was in my top 5 R&B/soul singers ever. The guy had the best screamer's voice for soul outside of James Brown and his songs were pretty badass too.
Everyone's heard stuff like "Midnight Hour," "Land of 1000 Dances," "Mustang Sally" and "634-5789" but he had some overlooked classics too; "A Man and a Half," his thrilling cover of "Hey Jude," "Lay Me Like You Hate Me," "I'm a Midnight Mover," "Get Me Back on Time, Engine Number Nine." But he also could do the mellow stuff quite while also; "I'm in Love," "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You," "Don't Knock My Love," "If You Need Me." He had a healthy decade of hits and a great prime of his career, but now he's joined Brother Ray, Otis, Sam Cooke and all the other greats in soul heaven. |
| January 19th, 2006 07:52 PM |
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| texile |
when i was kid, my cousin had wilson pickett 45 from 71, can't remember what it was because the b-side was the one i loved...the first real funk i ever heard.
RIP - he was truly wicked.
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| January 20th, 2006 02:17 PM |
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| caro |
RIP, he was great! And I had a special fondness for him because I got a kick out of his definition of Soul. "Soul music is music with soul. White people don't make soul music, so I guess they don't have a soul." |
| January 20th, 2006 04:04 PM |
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| Culpa |
What hit single from 1966 featured both the Rolling Stones and Wilson Pickett?
Its here:
[culpadirect.blogspot.com]
C
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| January 21st, 2006 06:51 AM |
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| J.J.Flash |
Shit.....sad indeed.
Rest in Peace Wilson |
| January 22nd, 2006 12:01 AM |
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| Child of the Moon |
Man... that just kills me inside. What a friggin' shame. Why do they all keep going?
Thanks for all the great music, Wilson. I'll play some stuff tomorrow at work in yer honor. |
| January 23rd, 2006 05:35 AM |
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| Gazza |
Not sure if its been posted elsewhere but towards the end of "Satisfaction" at Friday night's MSG show, Mick sang a few lines of 'Mustang Sally" as a tribute |
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