 Born in Prattville, Alabama, March 18, 1941, Wilson Pickett was raised by an abusive mother and was the youngest of 11 children. He moved to Detroit at the age of fourteen to live with his father.
It was Detroit where the young Pickett built on his Baptist church choir upbringing and formed a gospel group called the Violinaires. After four years of little succes, Pickett ventured into secular music to join the soul group The Falcons in 1959. There, along with fellow members Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice, Wilson had his first hit with "I Found Love." Written and sang by Pickett, the track made it to Billboard's soul chart's No. 6 in 1962.
Riding on the success of this tune, Pickett went solo with Correctone Records. Failure led him to Lloyd Price's Double L Records, where he recorded "If You Need Me" and "It's Too Late." The former made it to Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler, who gave it to his hit artist Soloman Burke, who in turn turned it into an R&B chart hit and soul standard. A crushed Pickett was still able to enjoy hit status with "It's Too Late."
After Wexler bought out his contract with Double L, Pickett recorded two flops, but soon hooked up with the label's session guitarist Steve Cropper. At the famous Stax Records' recording studio in Memphis the two penned the soul/rock classic that would rocket Wilson Pickett to stardom. "In The Midnight Hour" topped the R&B chart and hit No. 21 on the pop chart in 1965. The partnership went on to produce a string of hits that included, "Don't Fight It" (1965), "634-5789",(#13 in 1966) "Land Of 1,000 Dances",(#6 in 1966) "Mustang Sally" (#23 in 1966) and "Funky Broadway" (#8 in 1967). Also involved in the collaboration was Eddie Floyd and Stax pioneer Isaac Hayes on keyboard.
After Stax put a ban on all outside production, Pickett relocated to another legendary studio, Muscle Shoals in Alabama where he recorded from 1966 to 1967. The hits kept rolling until the early 1970's.
After signing with RCA in 1972 the hits dwindled, but Pickett remained active on the tour circuit, performing with the likes of Ben E. King, Solomon Burke, Joe Tex and Don Covay, who together formed "The Soul Clan."
1991 saw the soul legend inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.
After a battle with substance abuse, he was convicted of drug offenses as well as drunk driving. Truly living up to his decades-old moniker "Wicked Pickett" and was arrested and charged with yelling death threats while driving his car over the mayor's front lawn in Englewood, New Jersey where he lived. He was also sentenced to one year in jail in 1993, after hitting an 86 year-old man with his automobile.
Despite the personal problems, Pickett continued to be honored as a soul and rock and roll pioneer. He was a highly sought after songwriter who also wrote a ton of songs for a legion of artists including Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Booker T. & the MGs, Genesis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hootie & the Blowfish, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos and many more. His music was a major part of the film "The Commitments," and also featured him as an off-screen character. In 1993, he received a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. As a singer, Pickett returned to the limelight in 1999 with the Grammy-nominated It's Harder Now, his first studio album in 12 years. The set earned three WC Handy Awards from the Blues Foundation, including one for comeback album of the year.
Never one to stop, Pickett continued to perform numerous concerts until 2004 when his health began to suffer. On January 19th, 2006, he suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 64, but will always be remembered for his soulful, gut-wrenching vocals, charisma and longevity. Fellow legend Little Richard spoke at his funeral, while Aretha Franklin joined the stars who honored Pickett. He was "one of the greatest soul singers of all time," Franklin said, "he will absolutely be missed.
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