From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Mar 18, 2002  1:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Wilson Pickett
 
WILSON PICKETT

Born 18 March 1941, Prattville, Alabama

Wilson Pickett brought the gruff, throaty power of his gospel-trained
voice to bear on some of the most incendiary soul music of the Sixties.
Raised in Detroit, Pickett sang in several of the city's R&B groups. In
1961 he joined the Falcons, an act already established by their 1959
# 17 hit "You're So Fine". Pickett wrote and sang lead on their 1962
hit, "I Found A Love", after which he launched his solo career.
A false start at Correctone was overturned by two powerful singles,
"If You Need Me" and "It's Too Late", recorded for Lloyd Price's
Double L outlet. The former track's potential was undermined by
Solomon Burke's cover version on Atlantic Records, the irony of which
was compounded when Pickett moved to that same label in 1964.
After two flop singles, Jerry Wexler sent him to Memphis to record at
Stax with Booker T and the MG's. An inspired partnership with guitarist
Steve Cropper produced the classic standard, "In The Midnight Hour"
(# 21). His biggest pop hits were a hysterical remake of Chris Kenner's
"Land Of A 1,000 Dances", which went to # 6 in 1966, and "Funky
Broadway" (# 8 in 1967). Other collaborators included erstwhile Falcon
Eddie Floyd and former Valentino, Bobby Womack. The latter partnership
proved increasingly important as the '60s progressed. Deprived of the Stax
houseband due to their break with Atlantic, Pickett next recorded at Fame's
Muscle Shoals studio. A remarkable version of "Hey Jude", with Duane Allman
on guitar, was the highlight of this period. A further experiment, this time
with producers Gamble And Huff, resulted in two hits, "Engine Number 9"
(1970) and "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You" (1971), while a trip to
Miami provided "Don't Knock My Love", his last Top 20 hit for Atlantic.
Wilson switched to RCA in 1972, but the previous success was hard to regain.
From 1963 to 1973 Pickett had 38 entries in the Hot 100.

CD recommendation : A Man and a Half : The Best of Wilson Pickett.
2 CD-set, released on Rhino in 1992. Includes his early Falcons sides.