Wilson Pickett - Land of 1000 Dances | Soul Sunday

Опубликовано 18 мая 2025, 14:01

This Soul Sunday highlights Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances,” a 1966 release that transformed a modest R&B tune into a high-octane soul anthem. Recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and the Memphis Horns, Pickett’s version is renowned for its electrifying energy and his signature scream leading into the instrumental break. The song became Pickett’s third No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and his highest-charting pop hit, peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100. “Land of 1000 Dances” remains a defining track of 1960s soul and a showcase of Pickett’s dynamic vocal prowess.

Wilson Pickett spoke of his “cornbread” vocals, the muscular rasp he brought to material, a sound downhome yet sophisticated, as joyous as it was fierce. Famous at his peak as “The Wicked Pickett,” he came up as a journeyman gospel performer aiming at the secular spotlight. Born in 1941 in Prattville, Alabama, he was the fourth of 11 children. In 1955 he moved to Detroit to live with his father. His singing shone on street corners and in church, and within the year he was one of The Violinaires, a touring gospel group. He next joined The Falcons, a worldly outfit that included Eddie Floyd, with whom he formed a songwriting bond. Pickett co-wrote and sang lead on the group’s “I Found A Love,” spurring him to go solo, a decision that brought him to Atlantic Records in 1964. He broke big in 1965 with “In The Midnight Hour,” which he recorded at the Stax Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee, earning a Grammy nomination and a gold record. That year he also hit with “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” and “Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do).” From Stax, Pickett pivoted to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he laid down his biggest and most enduring hits “Land Of 1000 Dances,” “Funky Broadway,” and “Mustang Sally.” In addition to his catalog of originals, Pickett regularly applied his skills and sound to versions of songs by such rock artists as The Beatles (“Hey Jude”), The Archies (“Sugar, Sugar”), and Free (“Fire And Water”) that crackled with cornbread soul.

Wilson Pickett - Land of a 1000 Dances
Album: The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Release Year
Stax

_Written By:_ Chris Kenner

_Performed By:_
Vocals: Wilson Pickett
Guitar: Chips Moman, Jimmy Johnson
Keyboards: Spooner Oldham
Drums: Roger Hawkins
Bass: Junior Lowe or Tommy Cogbill
Tenor sax: Charlie Chalmers, Andrew Love
Trumpet: Wayne Jackson
Baritone Sax: Floyd Newman

_Produced By:_
Steve Cropper – supervisor
Tom Dowd – engineer, supervisor
Rick Hall – engineer, supervisor
Jim Stewart – engineer, supervisor
Jerry Wexler – supervisor

Recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama on May 11, 1966

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