Wilson Pickett

Among the leading soul performers of the 1960s, Wilson Pickett distinguished himself through a particularly unrefined and intense approach, crafting many of the period’s most infectious dance tracks on successes including “In the Midnight Hour,” “Land of 1000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally,” and “Funky Broadway.” While critics often rank him below more adaptable figures such as Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin, enthusiasts seeking a less refined brand of soul frequently favor his output. His earliest recordings also helped define the Southern soul aesthetic, usually penned and tracked with elite session players based in Memphis and Muscle Shoals.

Pickett first gained notice as a member of the Falcons, who scored a Top Ten R&B entry in 1962 with “I Found a Love.” Before signing with Atlantic Records, he notched additional R&B successes via “If You Need Me”—later covered by the Rolling Stones—and “It’s Too Late.” Atlantic sent him to Stax in Memphis in 1965, where “In the Midnight Hour” emerged as an early product. Its pounding horn motif, rolling funky rhythms, and raw vocal delivery formed a pivotal bridge that carried R&B into the soul era. The single topped the R&B chart and reached number 21 on the pop side, yet its reach far surpassed that placement; countless bands, both black and white, interpreted it live and on disc throughout the decade.

A string of equally charged soul hits followed over the next several years, among them “634-5789,” “Mustang Sally,” and “Funky Broadway,” each routinely reworked by other groups into dance-floor staples. “Land of 1000 Dances” became his strongest pop performer, climbing to number six and functioning as a soul rallying cry through its catalog of contemporary dance steps; nearly as many acts covered it as had tackled “Midnight Hour.” Pickett soon ventured beyond Stax, cutting sides at Muscle Shoals as well. Several early Bobby Womack compositions appeared among these sessions, and Duane Allman supplied guitar on a hit treatment of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” In the early 1970s he also recorded hits in Philadelphia under Gamble & Huff productions, including a successful reading of the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar.” Further chart entries through that period encompassed “Don’t Knock My Love” and “Get Me Back on Time, Engine Number 9.”

A recurring pattern among 1960s soul artists held that those who achieved prominence at Motown or Atlantic rarely sustained comparable success after departing the label. Pickett proved no exception. His final major hit arrived with “Fire and Water” in 1972. He remained active on the touring circuit, and Rhino assembled his most vital work from the 1960s and early 1970s on the double-CD anthology A Man and a Half. After more than a decade without fresh material, It’s Harder Now appeared in 1999. Pickett continued performing through the early 2000s before retiring in late 2004 owing to health issues. He died on January 19, 2006, following a heart attack. In 2017 Rhino issued a broader survey, The Complete Atlantic Albums Collection.