I love Wilson Pickett's music, and Mustang Sally is probably my favorite, but there are so many I adore. It's sad the man died so young. Happy trails, Wilson. Thanks for the music.
Remembering Pickett's "Wicked" Ways
By Joal Ryan Thu Jan 19, 7:58 PM ET
Without Wilson Pickett, everything from AM radio to The Commitments would have sounded considerably less soulful.
The singer, whose signature tracks included "In the Midnight Hour" "Mustang Sally," and the na-na-na-na-na sing-along anthem "Land of a 1000 Dances," died Thursday of a heart attack in Reston, Virginia. He was 64.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Aretha Franklin remembered Pickett as "one of the greatest soul singers of all time."
This "greatest" of entertainers never had a number one Billboard hit, and never charted after the early 1970s. But when the one known as "Wicked" was on, he was on.
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Pickett into its pantheon in 1991, the Alabama-born entertainer distinguished himself with a 10-year recording run, from 1963 to 1973. During that period, Pickett turned his rough-and-ready vocals loose on everything from the yearnings of "Mustang Sally" ("Ride, Sally, ride...") to the public-service offerings of "634-5789" ("If you need some good loving, call on me...") to the supposed fluff of "Sugar, Sugar."
A hit for the Archies, "Sugar, Sugar" didn't sound at all suggestive when Jughead, et al., crooned, "You are my candy girl." But it did when Pickett got hold of it.
Born March 18, 1941, Pickett sang in choirs, gospel groups and what passed for a boy band circa the late 1950s before going solo.
In later years, Pickett remained an active performer--a novelty act. There was nothing cheap or sentimental, however, about the respect paid to the singer in the 1991 movie, The Commitments. Director Alan Parker's Irish knockabouts form what amounts to a very sincere cover band--a very sincere cover band that reveres Pickett. The film's best-selling soundtrack featured two Commitment takes on the man's music, "Mustang Sally" and "In the Midnight Hour."
"It was a great ride, a great trip," Michael Wilson Pickett, one of the singer's children, told Washington D.C.'s WRC-TV on Thursday. "I loved him and I'm sure he was well loved, and I just hope that he's given his props."
Remembering Pickett's "Wicked" Ways
By Joal Ryan Thu Jan 19, 7:58 PM ET
Without Wilson Pickett, everything from AM radio to The Commitments would have sounded considerably less soulful.
The singer, whose signature tracks included "In the Midnight Hour" "Mustang Sally," and the na-na-na-na-na sing-along anthem "Land of a 1000 Dances," died Thursday of a heart attack in Reston, Virginia. He was 64.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Aretha Franklin remembered Pickett as "one of the greatest soul singers of all time."
This "greatest" of entertainers never had a number one Billboard hit, and never charted after the early 1970s. But when the one known as "Wicked" was on, he was on.
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Pickett into its pantheon in 1991, the Alabama-born entertainer distinguished himself with a 10-year recording run, from 1963 to 1973. During that period, Pickett turned his rough-and-ready vocals loose on everything from the yearnings of "Mustang Sally" ("Ride, Sally, ride...") to the public-service offerings of "634-5789" ("If you need some good loving, call on me...") to the supposed fluff of "Sugar, Sugar."
A hit for the Archies, "Sugar, Sugar" didn't sound at all suggestive when Jughead, et al., crooned, "You are my candy girl." But it did when Pickett got hold of it.
Born March 18, 1941, Pickett sang in choirs, gospel groups and what passed for a boy band circa the late 1950s before going solo.
In later years, Pickett remained an active performer--a novelty act. There was nothing cheap or sentimental, however, about the respect paid to the singer in the 1991 movie, The Commitments. Director Alan Parker's Irish knockabouts form what amounts to a very sincere cover band--a very sincere cover band that reveres Pickett. The film's best-selling soundtrack featured two Commitment takes on the man's music, "Mustang Sally" and "In the Midnight Hour."
"It was a great ride, a great trip," Michael Wilson Pickett, one of the singer's children, told Washington D.C.'s WRC-TV on Thursday. "I loved him and I'm sure he was well loved, and I just hope that he's given his props."
