R.I.P. Wilson Pickett

One of the greatest soul singers of all time.

R.I.P.

amazing voice

The Wicked Pickett. from "I Found A Love" to "Midnight Hour" to "Sugar Sugar" to his psyche-phillysoul-delic masterpiece "Engine Engine Number Nine" he had one hell of a run. gave Otis competition. RIP.

And I just got Wicked Pickett last week on vinyl. : ( The Exciting is one of my favorite sixties soul Lps.

How about his version of "Hey Jude"? One of best Beatles covers of all-time, IMHO. Superior to the original, even. I'm gonna play it right now.

R.I.P., Wilson. You were truly one of the greats.

His "Hey Jude" has that tight, insistent groove that really pulls you in, along with an amazingly soulful vocal performance. And then the crescendo with Duane Allman's hot guitar solo. Oh man. What a great recording!

one of the greats.

Here's the tracklist for anyone who's interested:

1. Iron It Out
2. Isn't That So
3. Take A Look
4. I Was Too Nice
5. Don't Pass Me By
6. What Good Is A Lie
7. Young Boy Blues
8. Take Your Pleasure Where You Find It
9. You're The One

I'm listening right now. Good stuff. :)

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

NEW YORK -
Wilson Pickett, the soul pioneer best known for the fiery hits "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour," died of a heart attack Thursday in a Reston, Va., hospital, 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. Pickett lived in Ashburn, Va.

"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 singer's son, told WRC-TV in Washington after his death.

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.

"A fellow Detroiter, Wilson Pickett was one of the greatest soul singers of all time,"
Aretha Franklin said in a statement. "He will absolutely be missed. I am thankful that I got the chance to speak to him not too long ago."

Pickett was defined by his raspy voice and passionate delivery. But the Alabama-born Pickett 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, and would soon find his greatest success. In 1965, he linked with legendary soul producer Jerry Wexler at the equally legendary soul label Stax Records in Memphis, and recorded one of his greatest hits, "In the Midnight Hour," for Atlantic Records. A string of hits followed, including "634-5789," "Funky Broadway" and "Mustang Sally." His sensuous soul was in sharp contrast to the genteel soul songs of his Detroit counterparts at Motown Records.

Roger Friedman, a journalist and friend who featured Pickett in his 2002 documentary on soul greats, "Only the Strong Survive," said Pickett was "really Atlantic's answer to
James Brown."

"He wrote his own songs ... he was very, very musically adept, and look at his contribution — look how many songs of his songs have been covered?" Friedman told The Associated Press on Thursday.

As Pickett entered a new decade, he had less success on the charts, but still had a few more hits, including the song "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You."

"Like all these great legends of R&B, when disco came in, it really impacted their careers," Friedman said. "(But) what Americans don't realize is they have all continued to be incredibly popular in Europe — every summer, touring Europe to incredible crowds."

Still, Pickett suffered through some tough times. In 1991, he was arrested for allegedly yelling death threats while driving a car over the mayor's front lawn in Englewood, N.J., and less than a year later was charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

In 1993, he was convicted of drunken driving and sentenced to a year in jail and five years' probation after hitting an 86-year-old man with his car. In 1987, he was given two years' probation and fined $1,000 for carrying a loaded shotgun in his car.

Besides his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1991, he was also given the Pioneer award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation two years later. He also cast a long shadow and served as a role model in "The Commitments" in 1991, without appearing in the film.

"If I wasn't in show business I don't know what I would have been — a wanderer or something, you know?" he said in a 2001 interview. "But God blessed me with the talent and the chance. I knocked on enough doors, and this is what I can give myself credit for."

Friedman said he had just spoken to Pickett last week and he seemed optimistic he would be able to put recent health troubles aside and perform again.

"We had just a great talk," he said. "He really wanted to get back to business."

goodbye

Anyhow, he packed a lot of living in. RIP and good luck.

ffs

In his honour, I'm going to blast out Toe Hold, Hey Jude, Engine Number 9, Land of 1000 Dances, Mustang Sally...the list goes on.

Far superior soul shouter than James Brown in my humble opinion.

"He did his part. It was a great ride, a great trip," his son Michael Wilson Pickett told a TV station in Washington.

"I loved him and I'm sure he was well-loved."

from an Invisible Jukebox with Keiji Haino:

"Ah, it's the boss. Wilson Pickett. You thought you could catch me out by playing a later one (Engine #9), but once that voice kicks in there's no way it could be anyone else. With Wilson Pickettt, it's the voice. People are always trying to put him together with Otis Redding but that's a huge mistake. Wilson never cried on stage but Otis will blubber at the drop of a hat. Otis makes me laugh - no one wants to see your tears! But the way they sing is different. Of course Otis sings his heart out, but there's a fundamental difference to what lies behind the voice. I don't mean it in a discrimnatory way, but there's a quality of blackness to Pickett that I find deeply appealing."

Really sad. Too bad he never was able to mount a comeback ala Soloman Burke or Al Green. Pickett did some the best soul covers ever (many of which have already been singled out on this thread.) Dude had ears.

Listening to his music last night and today has only saddened me more.

I realized after thinking about Pickett for most of the day that he, along with few other iconic artists (The Supremes most likely) ranks as a formative figure in my music consciousness. My mom refused to listen to modern rock (that is, anything made after like '77, which is when I was born) and we listened to oldies exclusively. Looking back, I find it hard to believe that music so raw would be considered acceptable for children.

I wouldn't change a thing.

If any of you all are members of dimeadozen.org, check out this show:
Wilson Pickett & the Midnight Movers - 1969-02-10 Koncerthuset, Stockholm, Sweden (2nd show)

Setlist:

01. Radio Intro
02. Instrumental
03. Instrumental
04. Instrumental
05. Instrumental > Wilson Pickett Intro >
06. 634-5789
07. People Make The World
08. Midnight Mover
09. Hey Jude
10. Mustang Sally
11. I'm In Love
12. Funky Broadway
13. In The Midnight Hour
14. Sweet Soul Music
15. Land Of 1,000 Dances > Radio Outro

It's an FM broadcast (in lossless FLAC). I only just downloaded it today while I was out and about, so I can't comment on the sound quality or anything yet. But, from all reports, it's fabulous. Check it out, BT'ers!

P.S.
If you want a Dime account but the registration page says they're full, don't worry. Dime clears out old/dead/exceedingly poor share ratio-having accounts on the nines (i.e., 9:09 9:19 9:29) throughout the day, so keep on tryin'. :)

his versions of "hey jude" and "everybody needs somebody to love" are killing me this morning

yeah love that hey jude cover

Aw man, I'd forgotten he'd died until this thread got bumped. :(

His Hey Jude cover IS great, but so is his Sugar Sugar cover.

otm

cover of "Mama Told Me Not to Come" also awesome

Yeah, that one too.

It's because Duane was on that cover of "Hey Jude" that he ended up in Derek & the Dominoes. That Tom Dowd documentary had Dowd saying Clapton was on the way to Miami to record his new band and was asked if he needed anything. He said he needed to know who did the solo on "Hey Jude" and as it happened the Allmans were playing Miami as Clapton and the others arrived. Eric saw Duane play and the rest is history.

hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KoQ2RglvBl4

LOL @ barry gibb