Wilson Pickett

R&B and soul singer and songwriter (see also YouTube video)

Wilson Pickett (by Charles L. Hughes, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Singer Wilson Pickett (1941-2006) was renowned as an energetic and intense performer. He gained international fame with such hits as "Land of 1,000 Dances" and "In the Midnight Hour" and became one of the biggest black music stars of the 1960s and 1970s. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Pickett remains one of the most unique and significant artists of the soul-music era.

Wilson Pickett was born in Prattville, Autauga County, on March 18, 1941, fourth of eleven children who grew up working on the cotton farm of their sharecropper parents. While picking cotton in the fields, Pickett became fascinated by the "moan," a vocal tradition in African American culture that stretches back to early spirituals and became central to gospel, rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music. He sang at his local Baptist church, but even in childhood, Pickett—who became known as "The Wicked Pickett" for much of his career—displayed a wild streak that would later bring him great notoriety. He dared to quarrel with the white field boss who supervised his family's farm, and both his preacher grandfather and his mother (whom Pickett described as "the baddest woman in my book") repeatedly subjected Pickett to beatings.

In 1955, Pickett moved to Detroit with his father to escape his violent mother, whom his father had divorced. It was there that Pickett began his music career, singing with a gospel quartet called the Violinaires, with whom he recorded a few singles for Chicago's Chess Records, and touring with many gospel stars. Despite the success, Pickett felt constrained by the strict standards of the gospel circuit. In the hope of linking his love of the moan style of singing with more secular material, he joined the Falcons in 1959. Founded in 1956, the Falcons' membership at points included several other future soul stars, including Mack Rice and Eddie Floyd. The group's singles are considered seminal contributions to the developing soul genre, which combined the smooth textures of 1950s R&B with a growing emphasis on its roots in African American gospel and blues. This blend can be heard in the Falcons' hits "You're So Fine" (1959) and "I Found a Love" (1962), on which Pickett sings lead. His remarkable voice and charismatic live performances led to Pickett's 1963 departure from the Falcons. He then recorded a few singles for the small Double L Records label, until Atlantic—impressed with a Pickett demo recording—bought out his contract.

Atlantic producer and executive Jerry Wexler took a particular liking to Pickett's voice and style (which Pickett and others called "cornbread"). Wexler decided to first record Pickett at famed Stax Records studios in Memphis. Built around the spare, funky rhythms of house band Booker T. and the MGs, the "Stax sound" became the basis of hits by many soul and R&B stars, including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Carla Thomas. Pickett arrived in 1965 and recorded a series of singles that defined his "hard soul" sound. Passionate cuts like "In The Midnight Hour" and "634-5789" synthesized the gospel roots of Pickett's vocals with the strutting, layered rhythms of the Memphis musicians and established him as a star, topping the R&B charts and crossing over to the pop charts.

Ironically, Pickett's success is often blamed for a split between Wexler and the Stax leadership, a conflict that led to another fortuitous creative alliance for Atlantic's soul icon. In early 1966, Wexler took Pickett to FAME Studios in the small Alabama community of Muscle Shoals, which had built a reputation during the preceding five years as an efficient and versatile source of hit records, particularly those in the "southern soul" genre. Despite FAME's funky reputation, Pickett expressed ambivalence about returning to his home state, which still struggled with harsh racial intolerance. Pickett grew even more skeptical when he learned that FAME producer Rick Hall and the core backing musicians (known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) were white. Out of respect for Jerry Wexler however, Pickett agreed to record at FAME Studios, and his initial reluctance soon turned to creative joy, as he and the Muscle Shoals musicians recorded celebratory, hard-driving hits such as "Land Of A Thousand Dances" and "Mustang Sally." For the next several years, Pickett recorded in a variety of "southern soul" locales, including Muscle Shoals, Memphis and Miami, and recorded hits ranging from the reflective "I'm In Love" (written by friend and fellow soul star Bobby Womack) to a distinctive cover of the Beatles' "Hey Jude." In 1970, Pickett recorded two huge singles—"Engine Number Nine" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You"—at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia, mixing his gospel moan with the stylish, sophisticated orchestrations of producers and writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who crafted the hugely popular "Philadelphia sound" of the 1970s.

Pickett returned to Muscle Shoals to record a few last hits, but by 1973 his days as a recording superstar were over. He continued to tour, and his live shows were legendary, imbued with the bold self-confidence that Pickett described in assertive anthems such as "A Man And A Half." He recorded periodically during the late 1970s but also faced numerous legal, financial, and drug-related problems. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. He toured throughout the 1990s and released a comeback album, It's Harder Now, in 1999; although critics hailed it as a return to form, it failed to make commercial impact. Featured in the 2003 soul documentary Only The Strong Survive, Pickett continued to perform even while dogged by health problems.

Hospitalized repeatedly in 2005 and 2006, he died of a heart attack in Ashburn, Virginia, on January 19, 2006, leaving partner Gail Webb and their four children. Pickett's funeral included a memorable eulogy by Richard "Little Richard" Penniman, who remembered the great contributions that his friend and colleague made to American music. Pickett's songs remain radio staples, standard material for live cover bands, and a popular source of hip-hop samples. He represents soul music at its proudest and most unabashed, an explosive genre that provided perfect cultural complement to and soundtrack for the civil rights and black power movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

Published: December 3, 2007 | Last updated: November 1, 2018

http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1394

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Awards and nominations

Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.[32] In 1993, he was honored with a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 2005, Wilson Pickett was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.[33] In 2015 Wilson Pickett was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

He was nominated for five Grammy Awards during the course of his career.[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Pickett

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Soul Singer Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama, as the fourth of eleven children. Throughout his childhood, he sang in Baptist church choirs and was trained as a gospel singer. During this period, he began to develop a soulful tone and style that would eventually define his four-decade recording career. In 1955 Pickett moved away from his abusive mother to live with his father in Detroit, Michigan where he continued to sing in churches and establish relationships with prominent recording names like Little Richard.

In 1955 Pickett joined a gospel group, The Violinaires. The group enjoyed moderate success, going on tour, performing at churches, accompanying more well-known artists like The Soul Stirrers on stage. By 1959, Pickett had realized that mainstream success in the music industry meant switching to secular music and joined a rhythm and blues group named The Falcons.

The Falcons were successful on the R&B charts particularly in 1962 with the song “I Found Love,” co-written by Wilson Pickett. The song peaked at number six. Following its release Pickett began to embark on his career as a solo musician.

Pickett began collaborating with Don Covay in the early 1960s, churning out soul records like “I’m Gonna Cry” (1964), among many others. One of these was a song he wrote and recorded named “If You Need Me” (1962). Pickett sent the demo tape to Atlantic Records, hoping they would in turn offer him a record deal. Unfortunately, the soul-filled ballad was passed along to Solomon Burke, and his recording peaked at number 2 on the billboard R&B charts; this recording is now considered a soul standard.

Two years later, however, Atlantic bought Pickett’s contract from Double L records after he attained large-scale success with his single titled “It’s Too Late” (1963). A little over a year later, he was thrust into stardom by his chart-topping song “In the Midnight Hour” (1965), selling over one million copies and peaking at number one on the R&B charts and number 21 on the Hot 100. Over the course of the next three years, Pickett recorded other popular songs, including “634-5789” (1965), “Don’t Fight It” (1965) and “Mustang Sally” (1966). He remained with Atlantic Records until 1972, where he scored a total of five number one R&B hits during his tenure.

Pickett never reached the same level of recording success after leaving Atlantic for RCA in 1972. He continued to write music that was recorded and performed by other famous artists including Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin. In 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his achievements, innovations, and musical contributions.

Unfortunately, these later years were marred by Pickett’s struggles with violence and substance abuse. In 1991 he was arrested for yelling death threats at the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, while driving on his lawn. Later, in 1993, Pickett struck an eighty-six-year-old woman with his car while he was intoxicated and pleaded guilty to DUI charges. Several years after being released from jail, he wrote and recorded one final album entitled “It’s Harder Now” in 1999. The album was fairly successful and earned him a Grammy award nomination. Pickett continued to play dozens of concerts a year until 2004 when his health began to fail. He died on January 16, 2006 of a heart attack at the age of sixty-four.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/pickett-wilson-1...

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WILSON PICKETT OBITUARY

RESTON, Va. (AP) - 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.

"He did his part. It was a great ride, a great trip, I loved him and I'm sure he was well-loved, and I just hope that he's given his props," Michael Wilson Pickett, the fourth of the singer's six children, told WRC-TV in Washington after his death.

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.

"In the Midnight Hour" made the top 25 on the Billboard pop charts in 1965 and "Mustang Sally" did the same the following year.

Pickett was defined by his raspy voice and passionate delivery. But the Alabama-born picket actually got his start singing gospel music in church. After moving to Detroit as a teen, he joined the group the Falcons, which scored the hit "I Found a Love" with Pickett on lead vocals in 1962.

He went solo a year later.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press

http://www.legacy.com/ns/wilson-pickett-obituary/16395997

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• https://www.wilsonpickett.com/
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pickett-1584
• https://www.wilsonpickett.com/copy-of-about-wilson-pickett
• https://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2007-Li-Pr/Pickett-W...
• http://www.musiclifemagazine.net/remembering-wilson-pickett-daughte...
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/L6P8-88T
• https://books.google.com/books?id=xboDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q&...
• https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-tran...
• https://www.al.com/entertainment/2017/04/how_wilson_picketts_daught...
• https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/black-history/wilson-pick...

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Legendary Soul Singer, Composer. He was dubbed “The Wicked Pickett” my radio DJ’s and fans, for his gruff power, raw groove and growling energy he brought to R & B music for over four decades. He first performed in the gospel harmony group the Violinaires in the 1950s and became a member of the Falcons in 1959. Their hit "I Found a Love" helped Pickett make a deal with Atlantic Records and the hook up with renowned producer Jerry Wexler at Stax Records. There with Steve Cropper, the guitarist in Booker T and the MGs, he co-wrote "In the Midnight Hour" a 1965 number one hit. In 1966, he followed with the classic hit, "Mustang Sally, a cover of "Land of 1000 Dances," "Funky Broadway," 1967 and the telephonic hit "634-5789." By the early 1970s, he had released several cover hits to include, The Beatles' "Hey Jude" and "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies. His last hit song was "Fire and Water" in 1972. Through the 1980s, he continued to be a popular figure performing for jazz and soul music showcases. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Grammy nomination for his album, “It's Harder Now" in 1999, which also received three W.C. Handy Awards, the in-genre trophy for blues and soul recordings. On January 18, 1999, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and received a life time achivement award. For the film "Blues Brothers 2000," he performed at the Los Angeles and New York premieres of the movie.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jul 11 2021, 15:33:02 UTC

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