Wilson Pickett's Obituary
MR. WILSON PICKETT, JR., 64, died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006 at Reston Hospital Center, Reston, Virginia, near his Ashburn, Virginia home.
Born in Prattville, Alabama on March 18, 1941, Pickett honed his vocal style singing gospel in Southern Baptist Churches. He was one of 11 children and called his mother “the baddest woman in my book.” In 1955 he moved to Detroit to live with his father.
In Detroit he joined a gospel music group called the Violinaires. The group accompanied Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers, The Swan Silvertones and The David Sisters on church tours across the country. Pickett became good friends with Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin during that time.
Wilson’s first major break came when he joined The Falcons in 1959. They were one of the first vocal groups to bring gospel into popular context, paving the way for soul music. When Wilson joined the group, Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice were also members of the group. Wilson’s biggest success with The Falcons came in 1962 when “I Found a Love” featuring Pickett on lead vocals, peaked #6 on the R&B charts.
In 1965, Pickett signed with Atlantic Records. Backed by guitarist, Steve Cropper and some of the top session musicians from Muscle Shoals and Memphis. He recorded more than thirty R&B hits. Some of those thirty hits include “634-5789,” “Land of 1000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally”(Perhaps his best remembered hit), “Funky Broadway,” “In the Midnight Hour” and even a surprisingly soulful cover of the Archies, “Sugar, Sugar.”
Wilson was also a popular songwriter, with songs he wrote recorded by such artist a Led Zepplin, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, The Grateful Dead, Booker T. and the MGs, Genesis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hootie and the Blowfish, Echo and The Bunnymen, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos, The Jam and Ani DiFranco, among others.
By the early 1970’s, Wilson had released several more hits, including a cover of the Beatle’s “Hey Jude.” In 1972 Wilson released “Fire and Water.” In that same year, he left Atlantic Records.
Wilson continued to perform until 2005, when health problems forced him off the road.
Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and two years later, he was given the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
His most recent album, 1999’s “It’s Harder Now” received rare reviews, three WC Handy Awards, including Best Soul/Blues Male Artist of the year and a Grammy nomination.
In December 2004, “Mustang Sally” and “In the Midnight Hour” were included in Rolling Stones list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
“Hey Jude” is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 most popular influential songs of rock and roll and selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame staff, rock critics and historians.
Survivors include: his fiancé: Gale Webb of Ashburn, Va.; two son: Lynderick Pickett of Detroit, Michigan, Michael Wilson Pickett of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; two daughters: Veda Pickett of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Saphan Pickett of Inglewood, New Jersey; step-mother: Helen Pickett of Detroit, Michigan; nine brothers and sisters: Maxwell Pickett and Louella New both of Decatur, Georgia, Bertha Harbison, Emily Rochelle Katherine Williams, Hezekiah Pickett, Lillie Clay, Vanessa Pickett all of Louisville, Kentucky, Willie James Pickett of Irvington, New Jersey; and 9 grandchildren.
A visitation will by held at the Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Cr., Leesburg, Virginia on Monday January 23, 2006 from 4-9pm. Funeral services will take place in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, January 28, 2006, followed by interment in Evergreen Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky.
A memorial service is to be held later in New York City.
DVD Video Tributes are Available, Contact the Funeral Chapel For More Information.
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