"The Wicked Pickett": Wilson Pickett (1941-2006)
Wilson Pickett was born in Prattville, Alabama. Pickett grew up singing in church choirs. He once called his mother "the baddest woman in my book. I get scared of her now.
She used to hit me with anything, skillets, stove wood — (one time I ran away and) cried for a week. Stayed in the woods, me and my little dog."
In 1955, Pickett left to live with his father in Detroit. Pickett was a Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll singer and songwriter.
Pickett played a critical role in the formation of Soul music.
He recorded over 50 songs which hit the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100.
Among his best known hits are "In the Midnight Hour" (which he co-wrote), "Land of 1,000 Dances", "Mustang Sally", and "Funky Broadway".
James E. Brunson