2006年VOA标准英语-Pioneering Soul Singer Wilson Pickett Dies

By Ray McDonald
Washington
20 January 2006

Wilson Pickett, whose dynamic soul hits reflected his turbulent offstage life, is dead at age 64. VOA's Ray McDonald has more on the singer known as the "Wicked Pickett."

"634-5789" was a major soul hit from 1966. That year marked the high-water mark for Wilson Pickett whose songs remain party staples¹ to this day.

Wilson Pickett, center, sang during New Orleans jazz festival (2001 file photo)   
  
Born in Prattville, Alabama, Wilson Pickett was the youngest of 11 children. He says his mother Lena was a stern disciplinarian, and would hit him with anything at hand. At 14, the family moved to Detroit, and Wilson began singing on street corners. In 1959, he joined a group called The Falcons², which included future stars Eddie Floyd and Joe Stubbs, the brother of Four Tops leader Levi Stubbs. The group had a 1962 hit, "I Found A Love," before Wilson went solo.

Signing with Atlantic Records in 1964, Wilson Pickett achieved artistic³ success. He teamed with Stax Records' house band, Booker T and the MGs. Pickett and guitarist Steve Cropper co-wrote the 1965 hit "In The Midnight Hour." Its raw intensity⁴ set the pattern for his subsequent releases.

Wilson Pickett enjoyed 16 Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1972. He sang with a ferocity equaled by few other acts, and he doubled his songs' impact by living as hard as he performed. He sported diamonds and furs, drove a Rolls-Royce, and acquired the nickname the "Wicked Pickett" after pinching an Atlantic Records secretary. He even helped Ford⁵ Motor Company score a runaway⁶ hit with its hot new car by recording⁷ "Mustang Sally."

Wilson Pickett recorded well into the 1980s, when his volatile⁸ personality began to work against him. In 1991, he was arrested for driving his car across the lawn of the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey⁹. A year later, Pickett was sentenced to five years' probation¹⁰ after injuring an 86-year-old man while driving drunk. He was also arrested on charges of cocaine¹¹ possession and assaulting his girlfriend.

Even at his lowest, however, Wilson Pickett remained a star. He resurrected his career in 1991, when his music appeared in "The Commitments," a hit movie about an Irish soul group. He performed at the film's premiere in New York City. He entered the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1991, while his final album, "It's Harder Now," won multiple W.C. Handy Blues¹² Awards in 1999.

That same year, he moved to Virginia, where he occasionally performed his old hits. Speaking in a 2001 interview, he said "God blessed me with the talent and the chance. I knocked on enough doors, and this is what I can give myself credit for."

Wilson Pickett succumbed¹³ to a fatal heart attack January 19 at Reston Hospital Center. He was 64. He is survived by his fiancée and four children. He will be buried beside his mother in Louisville, Kentucky.

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句

3 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

7 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

11 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

12 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

13 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。