Wilson “The Wicked” Pickett and Jerry Cantrell were born 25 years, 2500 miles, and 25 psychic light years apart, on March 18. Wilson would have been 75 today. Jerry celebrates his 50th birthday – yes, time flies, and it speeds up, too.
Wilson Pickett was the temperamental wild child with the voice of an angel. He was born in Prattville, AL, in 1941, the 4th of 11 children, and moved to Detroit, MI, to live with his father in 1955. He sang in choirs, gospel groups and the early soul group, The Falcons, before being signed as a solo artist by Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records. He cut his first records at Stax in Memphis, TN, with that famous house band, Booker T Jones, Steve Cropper and “Duck” Dunn. In 1965, he wrote the song that made him a star: “In the Midnight Hour” (#1 R&B). Other Stax hits include: “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” (#1) “Don’t Fight It” (#4) and “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” (#13). The following year, Wilson moved to Fame recording studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, recording with the famous “Swampers” studio band. “Land of a Thousand Dances” (#1), “Mustang Sally” (#6) and “Funky Broadway” (#1) came out of those sessions. It was also at Muscle Shoals that then-session guitarist Duane Allman convinced the Wicked Pickett to record a cover of the Beatles' "Hey Jude".
Wilson would ultimately chart 50 Billboard singles and be inducted into the rock HOF in 1991. His songs have been covered by Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, the Grateful Dead, Booker T. & the MGs, Genesis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hootie & the Blowfish, Echo & the Bunnymen, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos, the Jam and Ani DiFranco, and others. But, his obsession with booze, drugs, cars and guns, usually mixed together, landed him in trouble. He had gun and possession convictions, and in 1993 hit a pedestrian with his car while driving drunk. The victim died later, and Wilson was jailed for a year.
In 1999, Wilson’s comeback album, It’s Harder Now, was a Grammy nominee. He died from a heart attack on January 19, 2006.
Jerry Cantrell’s complete story has yet to be written. So far, he seems to have weathered the losses that life has thrown at him. Born in Tacoma, WA, in 1966, Jerry’s parents divorced when he was 7, and his mom died when he was 20. He had been an award-winning singer in high school, and had taken up the guitar a few years earlier. By that point he had escaped his country music upbringing and turned to hard rock, a la Ace Frehley, Tony Iommi, Angus Young, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen.
In the mid-80s, Jerry met Layne Staley at Seattle’s Music Bank rehearsal studios, a converted warehouse that was the spawning ground for much of the city’s grunge and heavy metal scene. They became friends, roommates and band mates in each other’s bands – projects that eventually narrowed down to Alice In Chains. Jerry was the lead guitarist, co-lead singer with Layne, and a principal songwriter, and has remained with the group ever since. Jerry and AIC endured Layne’s dissipation due to heroin, going on forced hiatus in the late 90s. Layne died in April, 2002.
During AIC’s inactivity, Jerry produced two solo albums, and a single for the movie The Cable Guy, “Leave Me Alone.” AIC’s surviving members reunited in 2005, toured with a variety of co-lead singers through 2014, and produced two more studio albums. AIC has no current tour dates set, but may be working on another album. Meanwhile, Jerry played on the 3-song EP Duff McKagan released with his book last year. He missed a scheduled appearance at the “Dimebash” tribute in January, having some emergency, but reportedly minor out-patient surgery. Jerry has apparently recovered and he is collaborating on the Deftones new album, Gore.
Happy 50th Birthday to Jerry Cantrell!
