Wilson Pickett

People like me and Aretha Franklin and Joe Tex, we had predicted that inside of five years disco would be all over, that it was just a fad. But we didn't anticipate being knocked out of the pocket altogether.

You see, I wanted to sing gospel, but I wanted to make me some money, too.

If you leave God and go to the devil, you're going to go to hell.

If you get the disco or rap format on the radio, an R&B record doesn't fit, because it will break up the mood.

We used to have a lot of fun. We got cheated out of a lot of money, but we seemed to enjoy ourselves anyway.

The older songs were better songs, because they had lyrics with a story to tell. Aretha and Otis told stories.

I took a long rest period. I didn't know heads or tails of what anybody wanted; it seemed as if R&B had been put on the shelf.

I don't do disco.

I think people are entitled to have a new album by Wilson Pickett in their homes every year.

When I make a record, I want to use some electronics, although I still want to keep things pretty basic.

Singing like I do is very hard, and as you get older, it's getting harder and harder all the time.

I don't bother anybody, but I don't let people walk over me.

When I started buying my mother all these homes, like a second home in Kentucky, where I moved most of my family, they began to rely on my wallet.

I'd lived in New Jersey for 30 years. That was long enough. It's too crowded up there, and it's a very dangerous place to live. There's a whole lotta crime.

One of the secretaries at Atlantic Records caught me pinching one of the other secretaries on the butt one morning. She said, 'My, you sure are wicked.'

I got very bored with the music business.

I made two or three albums with money from my own pocket, but I couldn't get them released or played on the radio. I got tired of beating my brains out. I got very depressed. I took a break from the business. Then I got bored with that and had to come back.

Joe Stubbs was very jealous of me, especially after 'I Found a Love.' We'd be on stage and he'd lay traps for me, make me look bad.

I have allergies, so I use an inhaler, but it's all right.

I took five hit records to Memphis, and '634-5789' was stolen from me totally. Those songs are worth millions. I've never understood how someone could just steal your song like that.

I don't want to stay in the graveyard era of music.