Soul singer Wilson Pickett dies of heart attack at age 64

NEW YORK (AP) _ Wilson Pickett, the soul singer with the raspy voice and passionate delivery behind the hits ``Mustang Sally'' and ``In the Midnight Hour,'' has died at age 64. <br/><br/>Pickett

Friday, January 20th 2006, 6:30 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Wilson Pickett, the soul singer with the raspy voice and passionate delivery behind the hits ``Mustang Sally'' and ``In the Midnight Hour,'' has died at age 64.

Pickett died after a heart attack in a Reston, Va., hospital, said Chris Tuthill of management company Talent Source, which represented him. The singer lived in Ashburn, Va.

``He did his part. It was a great ride, a great trip, I loved him and I'm sure he was well-loved,'' Michael Wilson Pickett, the singer's son, told WRC-TV in Washington.

Known as ``Wicked Pickett,'' he became a star with such 1960s hits as ``In the Midnight Hour,'' which made the top 25 on the Billboard pop charts in 1965 and ``Mustang Sally,'' which did the same the following year.

The Alabama-born Pickett got his start singing gospel music in church. After moving to Detroit as a teen, he joined the Falcons, which scored the hit ``I Found a Love'' with Pickett as lead singer in 1962.

Pickett went solo a year later and would soon find his greatest success.

In 1965, he linked with soul producer Jerry Wexler at Stax Records in Memphis and recorded one of his greatest hits, ``In the Midnight Hour,'' for Atlantic Records.

A string of hits followed, including ``634-5789,'' ``Funky Broadway'' and ``Mustang Sally.'' His sensuous brand of soul contrasted sharply with the songs put out by his Detroit counterparts at Motown Records.

In a statement, Aretha Franklin said Pickett was one of the greatest soul singers of all time.

``He will absolutely be missed,'' she said. ``I am thankful that I got the chance to speak to him not too long ago.''

Roger Friedman, a journalist and friend who featured Pickett in his 2002 documentary on soul music greats, ``Only the Strong Survive,'' said Pickett was ``Atlantic's answer to James Brown.

``He wrote his own songs ... he was very, very musically adept, and look at his contribution _ look how many of his songs have been covered?'' Friedman told The Associated Press on Thursday.

As Pickett entered a new decade, he had less success on the charts but still scored a few more hits, including ``Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You.''

``Like all these great legends of R&B, when disco came in, it really impacted their careers,'' Friedman said. ``What Americans don't realize is they have all continued to be incredibly popular in Europe _ every summer, touring Europe to incredible crowds.''

Still, Pickett suffered through some tough times.

In 1991, he was arrested for allegedly yelling death threats while driving a car over the mayor's front lawn in Englewood, N.J., and less than a year later was charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

In 1993, he was convicted of drunken driving and sentenced to a year in jail and five years' probation after hitting an 86-year-old man with his car. In 1987, he was given two years' probation and fined $1,000 for carrying a loaded shotgun in his car.

Besides his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1991, Pickett was given the Pioneer award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation two years later. He also cast a long shadow and served as role model in the 1991 film ``The Commitments'' without appearing in the film.

``If I wasn't in show business I don't know what I would have been _ a wanderer or something, you know?'' he said in a 2001 interview. ``But God blessed me with the talent and the chance. I knocked on enough doors and this is what I can give myself credit for.''

Friedman said he had just spoken to Pickett last week and he seemed optimistic he would be able to put recent health troubles aside and perform again.

``We had just a great talk,'' he said. ``He really wanted to get back to business.''