GM – LIF – Today’s American Champion was an American singer and songwriter.

A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the 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".

Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, in recognition of his impact on songwriting and recording. ENJOY!

Remember – “I'd start to sing, and the record would start skipping. You'd be skipping along with it. Those were the days, my friend. We'd look so stupid, but the kids loved it.” – Wilson Pickett

Today in our History – January 19, 2006 – Wilson Pickett dies.

Wilson Pickett, (born March 18, 1941, Prattville, Alabama, U.S.—died January 19, 2006, Reston, Virginia), American singer-songwriter, whose explosive style helped define the soul music of the 1960s. Pickett was a product of the Southern black church, and the gospel was at the core of his musical manner and onstage persona. He testified rather than sang, preached rather than crooned. His delivery was marked by the fervor of religious conviction, no matter how secular the songs he sang.

Along with thousands of other Southern farmworkers, Pickett migrated in the 1950s to industrial Detroit, Michigan, where his father worked in an auto plant. His first recording experience was in pure gospel. He sang with the Violinaires and the Spiritual Five, modeling himself after Julius Cheeks of the Sensational Nightingales, a thunderous shouter.

Pickett’s switch to secular music came quickly. As a member of the Falcons, a hardcore rhythm-and-blues vocal group, he sang lead on his own composition â€œI Found a Love” (1962), one of the songs that interested Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler in Pickett as a solo artist. “Pickett was a pistol,” said Wexler, who nicknamed him “the Wicked Pickett” and sent him to Memphis, Tennessee, to write with Otis Redding’s collaborator, guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG’s. The result was a smash single, “In the Midnight Hour” (1965). From that moment on, Pickett was a star. With his dazzling good looks and confident demeanor, he stood as a leading exponent of the Southern-fried school of soul singing. His unadorned straight-from-the-gut approach was accepted, even revered, by civil-rights-minded pop culture.

After his initial string of smashes—“Land of 1000 Dances” (1966), “Mustang Sally” (1966), “Funky Broadway” (1967)—Pickett was successfully produced by Philadelphians Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who took a bit of the edge off his fiery style on “Engine Number 9” (1970) and “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” (1971). Before leaving Atlantic, Pickett enjoyed another run of smashes, including “Don’t Knock My Love” (1971), “Call My Name, I’ll Be There” (1971), and “Fire and Water” (1972). The advent of funk bands and disco resulted in a decline in Pickett’s popularity, although there are critics who consider “Groove City” (1979) on EMI, his one nod to disco, a dance groove of monumental stature. Although his output began to slow in the 1980s, Pickett continued to perform into the early 21st century, and his influence on younger generations of soulful singers, from Johnny Gill to Jonny Lang, remained strong. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Pickett was the father of four children. At the time of his death he was engaged.

Pickett's struggle with alcoholism and cocaine addiction led to run-ins with the law.

In 1991, Pickett was arrested for yelling threats while drunkenly driving his car over the front lawn of Donald Aronson, the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. He faced charges of drunk driving, refusing to take a breath test, and resisting arrest. Pickett agreed to perform a benefit concert in exchange for having the disorderly conduct and property damage charges dropped. He would perform as his community service.

In 1992, Pickett struck an 86-year-old pedestrian, Pepe Ruiz, with his car in Englewood. Police allegedly found six empty miniature vodka bottles and six empty beer cans in his car. Ruiz, who had helped organize the New York animation union, died later that year. Pickett pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges. He agreed to rehab and received a reduced sentence of one year in jail and five years probation. A week after this incident, a judge ordered Pickett to move out of his home after his live-in girlfriend charged him with threatening to have her killed and throwing a vodka bottle at her.

In 1996, Pickett was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend Elizabeth Trapp while under the influence of cocaine; she refused to press charges. Pickett was charged with cocaine possession.

Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Reston, Virginia. He was 64. He was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Evergreen Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. Pickett spent many years in Louisville. The eulogy was delivered by Pastor Steve Owens of Decatur, Georgia. Little Richard, a long-time friend of Pickett's, spoke about him and preached a message at the funeral. Pickett was remembered on March 20, 2006, at New York's B.B. King Blues Club with performances by the Commitments, Ben E. King, his long-term backing band the Midnight Movers, soul singer Bruce "Big Daddy" Wayne, and Southside Johnny in front of an audience that included members of his family, including two brothers. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!