The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. This morning's show was in memory of renowned soul singer Wilson Pickett who passed away last Thursday. Spyder Turner also shared some of his memories of his days touring with Pickett.
- 634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) - 1966
- Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You - 1971
- I Found A Love - 1962 - The Falcons and Band (Ohio Untouchables)
- I Found A Love - Part 1 - 1967
- I'm In Love - 1967
- Land Of 1000 Dances - 1966
- Hey Jude - 1969
- Engine Number 9 - 1970
- Mustang Sally - 1966 (by request)
- Fire And Water - 1972
- In The Midnight Hour - 1965
Notes:
- "634-5789" topped the R&B charts for Wilson Pickett in 1966 and was a Top 40 Pop/Rock hit. This song later became a minor hit for the Johnny Van Zant Band in 1980. Many have speculated that Pickett's "634-5789" was inspired by (or was perhaps even a reworked version of) the Marvelettes' 1962 hit, "Beechwood 4-5789," because of the strong similarities between these songs in both their storylines and titles.
- "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You" (1971) and "Engine Number Nine" (1970) as played this morning are two of many early 1970s songs by Pickett that were smash hits on both the R&B and Pop/Rock charts.
- Wilson Pickett actually had a hit with "I Found A Love" twice, both as part of a group and solo. Prior to going solo in 1963, he had been a member of the Falcons whose members also included Eddie Floyd and Bonny ("Sir Mack") Rice. "I Found A Love" first charted in 1962 for the Falcons and for this song, Pickett was the lead vocalist. Five years later, he charted again with this song, this time performing solo. Etta James later also had an R&B chart hit with this song in 1972. "I Found A Love" was co-written by Wilson Pickett, Willie Schofield, and Robert West. (Note that Pickett's "I Found A Love" is not to be confused with his similarly titled 1968 hit, "I Found A True Love.") Both the Falcon's and Pickett's solo versions were played this morning back-to-back.
- "I'm In Love" was the flip-side of "Stag-O-Lee," both of which were hits for Wilson Pickett in 1968. "I'm In Love" later topped the R&B charts for Aretha Franklin in 1974.
- Pickett topped the R&B charts and made the Pop/Rock Top 10 in 1966 with "Land Of 1000 Dances" which was written by Chris Kenner. Many other bands and artists also charted with this song with both sung and instrumental versions including Chris Kenner (1963), Cannibal and the Headhunters (1965), Thee Midniters (1965), the Electric Indian (1969), and the J. Geils Band (1983). "Land of 1000 Dances" is the song with the famous chant, Na na-na-na-Na na-na-na-Na na-na-NA na-na-NA na-na-na-NA ...
- Wilson Pickett's version of the Beatles' famous "Hey Jude" (1968) featured a young Duane Allman on guitar and became a Top 40 hit in 1969. Pickett also had hits with the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar" (1970), Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not To Come" (1972), the Leaves' "Hey Joe" (1969) and Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" (1969).
- "Mustang Sally" became a hit for Wilson Pickett in 1966 on both the R&B and Pop/Rock charts and is one of many songs for which he is famous. This song was written by Sir Mac Rice and it first became a hit for him in 1965 on the R&B charts. Sir Mac Rice had also been a member of the Falcons along with Pickett.
- "Fire And Water" was Pickett's last Top 40 hit in a long string of hits on the Pop/Rock charts from 1963-1973. He continued to have hits on the R&B charts which continued uninterrupted through 1980 (his last hit, "Don't Turn Away," was in 1987).
- "In The Midnight Hour," one of Pickett's signature songs, topped the R&B charts in 1965 and was the first song of many that made him a star. This song was co-written by Wilson Pickett and Stephen Cropper and it later also charted for many other bands and artists on both the R&B and Pop/Rock charts including Little Mac and the Boss Sounds (1966, R&B), the Mirettes (1968), Cross Country (1973), Samantha Sang (1979), and Roger (1984, R&B). Numerous other artists have also covered "In The Midnight Hour" over the years.
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