Wilson wrote his best tune with Steve Cropper
Wilson Pickett wasn’t signed to Stax—he was with Atlantic—but for a time, the two labels collaborated. In the early-to-mid ’60s, Wilson found himself working with Steve Cropper and the Stax house band. Together, they wrote and recorded what would become his breakthrough and biggest tune: In the Midnight Hour.
Before this, Wilson had been in Eddie Floyd’s band, The Falcons, but without any major tunes, they struggled to gain traction.
As a solo artist, Pickett had released singles and one album since 1963, but nothing had charted. So when In the Midnight Hour landed in 1965, it marked a true turning point.
The following year, he delivered three more hits: 634-5789 (Soulsville U.S.A.), Land of 1,000 Dances, and every covers band’s emergency tune, Mustang Sally. The first two went to #1. Mustang Sally only reached #6, but its legacy has arguably been even greater.
In early 1967, Wilson released another classic, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, later made famous by the film The Blues Brothers.
This two-year stretch—from mid-1965 to early 1967—really defined Wilson Pickett’s career. His five biggest tunes all came during this time.
Afterwards, he released a few more singles with less success and turned to covers, including Hey Jude (The Beatles), Born to Be Wild, Hey Joe, and even The Supremes’ You Keep Me Hanging On.
In 1972, he recorded Mama Told Me Not to Come, written by Randy Newman. The tune had already been a hit six years earlier, and Wilson’s version didn’t manage to revive it. Tom Jones had greater success with it in 2000.
Wilson kept releasing almost an album a year throughout the ’70s before slowing down in the ’80s. His final album, It’s Harder Now, came out in 1989—a fitting title for the closing chapter of a remarkable career.
Wilson Pickett Tunes | Related Pages
Hey Joe | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| C G | D A | E7 | E7 |
Hey Joe, ah where you goin’ with that gun of your hand…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
In the Midnight Hour | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play In the Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| E A | E A | E A | E A |
I’m gonna wait ’til the midnight hour, that’s when my love comes tumbling down…
Mustang Sally | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, the original recording, and cover versions.
| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 |
Mustang Sally, huh, uh. Guess you better slow your Mustang down…
Wilson Pickett on the web
