He was the Wicked Wilson Pickett, the legendary soul man whose
forty-plus hits included "In the Midnight Hour," "634-5789," "Land of
1000 Dances," "Mustang Sally," and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You."
Remarkably handsome and with the charisma to match, Wilson Pickett was
considered by many to be the greatest, the most visceral and sensual of
the classic 1960s soul singers, and as a man who turned screaming into
an art form, the most forceful of them all. He was the living embodiment
of soul. More than that, Wilson Pickett's journey reads like a guide
to popular black American music in the late 20th century.
From
the gospel-rich cotton fields of Alabama to the pre-Motown metropolis of
Detroit, and throughout his career at Atlantic Records-he was the first
artist on that label to record at Stax in Memphis, Fame in Muscle
Shoals, and Sigma in Philadelphia, and rehabilitated an exiled Bobby
Womack and introduced Duane Allman along the way-Wilson Pickett led the
shifts in Rhythm andBlues and soul music. Pickett's downfall,
precipitated by the move towards softer soul and then disco in the
1970s, proved equally dramatic, leading to a heavy alcohol and drug
addiction, a reputation for violence and gun use, a no-show for his
induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and two jail
terms later in the decade. Nonetheless, the "Wicked" Pickett climbed out
of these depths to end his career with a Grammy-nominated album before
his death in 2006.
For this first-ever accounting of Wilson
Pickett's life, bestselling biographer Tony Fletcher interviewed members
of the singer's family, friends and partners, along with dozens of his
studio and touring musicians. Offering equal attention to Pickett's
personal and professional life, with detailed insight into his legendary
studio sessions and his combative road style, In the Midnight Hour: The
Life and Soul of Wilson Pickett is the essential telling of an epic
life.
In the Midnight Hour : The Life and Soul of Wilson Pickett - Tony Fletcher
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£12.99