Wilson Pickett Died at the Age of 64

Wilson Pickett, the Alabama-born soul singer who brought a raw groove and growling energy to 1960s R&B music, with hits such as "In the Midnight Hour" and "Mustang Sally," died yesterday at the age of 64.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member died at the hospital after suffering a heart attack, according to a statement released by his personal manager, Margo Lewis. Chris Tuthill, of the management company Talent Source, said Pickett had been suffering from health problems for the last year. His career spanned four decades and, before slowing down in 2005, he had continued to perform, earning a Grammy nomination for the 1999 album "It's Harder Now," which also received three W.C. Handy Awards, the in-genre trophy for blues and soul recordings.

The singer was nicknamed "the Wicked Pickett" for his gruff power. "Mustang Sally" and "In the Midnight Hour" were touchstone hits for young music fans back in the 1960s, and they were revived memorably for a new generation by the 1991 Alan Parker film "The Commitments" and its hit soundtrack. The popular film's plot is about a scruffy collective of young Irish musicians and their ill-fated attempt to meet and perform with their hero, Pickett.

R&B music has lost a great representative in the person of Wilson Pickett, but his artistic achievements will always live among his fans.

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