Stax

Wilson Pickett was born in Pratville, Alabama, on March 18, 1941. He moved to Detroit as a child, where he later started singing in gospel groups before joining R&B group the Falcons, whose members included future Stax artists Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice. Sang “I Found A Love,” and got the attention of Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records in New York City. Since Atlantic and Stax had a partnership, Pickett recorded his first songs for Atlantic at 926 E.McLemore with the Stax creative staff and house band. In Memphis Pickett recorded “In the Midnight Hour,” which he and Steve Cropper co-wrote at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated a short time later. He also recorded “634-5789 (Soulsville U.S.A.),” which was written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper, and “Ninety-nine and a Half Won’t Do.”

Some of Pickett's other biggest hits, including the Mack Rice-penned "Mustang Sally," Dyke and the Blazers' "Funky Broadway," and "Land of 1,000 Dances," were all recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals with Wexler. All three sold more than a million copies. Throughout the rest of his life, he recorded and toured, racking up more million-sellers, including "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You" on Philadephia Internationl.

Pickett was honored with a Pioneer Award from the Rhytm and Blues Foundation in 1993 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. He died of a heart attack January 19, 2006 and is buried in Louisville, Kentucky.
The legendary "Wicked Pickett's" music has been featured in numberous films and has been recorded by a who's who of music-industry giants, including Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, the Grateful Dead, Genesis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hootie & the Blowfish, Echo & the Bunnymen, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos, The Jam and Ani DiFranco, among others.