Recently I read an article regarding the FCC fining several major broadcasting companies
for accepting PAYOLA. It would seem that everyone thought this was a dead issue
in the broadcasting industry, but apparently it isn’t. For some unknown reason the powers
that be at some of these major record labels thought they could disguise this nasty animal
in the form of promotional gifts for listeners that really ended up in the hands of station
employees in return the labels product got plenty of airplay.
In an effort to put payola out of the industry forever the FCC handed down a $12.5 million
fine to four of the largest radio broadcasting corporations in the US they are Clear Channel
Inc., CBS Radio, Entercom Corp and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. The FCC also required
that these companies give 4,000 hours of air time to small record companies and
local artists. Which brings up the question why would record labels have to pay to have
their music played? If you think about it if a record company doesn’t send a station their
product how are they going to get sales? If a radio station does have any music to play
then how are they going to draw listeners? The whole situation makes no sense unless
you look under the table, and when you do you’ll see what I’ve been saying all along
there is a conspiracy by the major record labels against Soul/Blues music.
Every sense these big broadcasting corporations started buying up Black radio stations
it’s been getting harder and harder to get a Soul/Blues song played on the air in regular
rotation. Oh sure some of these stations will play Soul/Blues music on the weekends but
not in regular rotation.
Most of your big cities have been robbed of hearing a lot of good quality music because
the people in charge at these powerhouse stations are too busy accepting PAYOLA. Personally
I applaud the FCC for handing down that type of fine. Now some of you may think
that I’m player hating, but I’m not. There are some of us in this industry that still have
morals and ethics unlike the thieves at these corporations that give the industry a bad
name. That is one of the primary reasons why Soul/Blues music doesn’t get played in
regular rotation on any of these corporate owned stations. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it
again “there is a conspiracy by the major record labels against Soul/Blues music”. These
scoundrels will do anything with in there power to keep this music oppressed. There are
a lot of talented artists in the Soul/Blues industry but for some unknown reason these major
labels would rather pay radio stations to play some garbage than to give these talented
folks a chance to be heard. My friend Senator “Timeless Wonder” Jones recently
wrote and produced a song for the Love Doctor that describes the mentality of the executives
at these major record companies, the name of the song is “STUPID”. Enough said.
That’s it for now be good to yourself until the next issue when I’ll continue, “Tellin It Like
It Tis”.

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Estate of Soul-Funk Singing Legend Wilson Pickett to Be Sold Sunday, April 29th by Four
Seasons Auction Gallery in Atlanta
Four Seasons Auction Gallery
(WebWire) 4/10/2007 4:10:39 PM

(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 10, 2007) Atlanta, Ga. - The personal effects and belongings of
soul music icon Wilson Pickett will be sold on Sunday, April 29th, by Four Seasons Auction
Gallery, beginning at 11 am. Items will include the singer's 1974 Stutz Blackhawk vintage
automobile; his Baldwin baby grand piano; hundreds of stage costumes and personal
clothes; and a Fender 50th Anniversary Stratocaster electric guitar.

The "Wicked Mr. Pickett" was one of the most famous and recognizable soul singers of the
1960s and '70s, with such hits as "Mustang Sally," "In the Midnight Hour," "Land of 1,000
Dances" and "Funky Broadway." He died January 19th, in Reston, Va., following a heart
attack. His connection to Atlanta comes by way of his brother, Maxwell, the executor and
trustee of his estate, who lives there.

"I contacted numerous auction houses about selling Wilson's estate," Mr. Pickett said, "but
Four Seasons struck me as being the most professional." Items that won't be included in
this auction, he added, are gold records and awards. "My brother certainly left behind a
slew of those," he remarked, "but they have more to do with his enduring legacy as an
artist. We'll decide on them at a later date."

The sale will still constitute a treasure trove of offerings, amassed over the entertainer's
long and rich life. It is sure to attract the attention of fans, collectors, music historians,
rock-themed restaurants and possibly the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.
A preview will be held the evening before the sale, on April 28th, at 6 pm, in Four Seasons'
showroom, at 2075 Liddell Drive.

Items certain to pique the interest of the crowd include:
• A 1974 Stutz Blackhawk automobile. Only eight of these highly desirable, hand-made
cars were imported into the U.S. from Italy that year. Pickett purchased one (for around
$120,000). Others were sold to Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis. Jr., and Elvis Presley (who
bought two). "They were the automobile of choice for the elite entertainers of the day,"
Maxwell said. Pickett's, re-painted a rich maroon color, has been partially restored and
shows just 26,000 original miles on the odometer.

• A Baldwin baby grand piano. Pickett acquired the ivory-colored piano about the time he
bought a home in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., around 1967-68 (Pickett lived most of his adult
life in New York, New Jersey and Virginia). "Wilson would sit at that piano and work on
various songs," his brother offered. "The lyrics and melodies of some of the very songs he
recorded were born in front of that keyboard. He loved it. Whenever he moved, that piano
moved with him." It's in like-new condition.

• A Fender 50th Anniversary Edition Deluxe Stratocaster electric guitar. Pickett owned
many guitars over the years, but this is the last one he acquired (in 2004) and, according
to Maxwell, it might have been his favorite. "He played it right up to the time he was no
longer able to perform," he said. "Like the piano, he would depend on it for inspiration,
strumming and creating new songs." The gold and ivory instrument, issued to celebrate 50
years' of Fender guitars, is in pristine condition.

• Stage costumes and personal clothing (about 150 lots of each). Wilson Pickett was a
sharp dresser both on and off the stage. When he was performing, he'd wear form-fitting,
rhinestone-studded outfits, about 150 of which will be sold. Also offered will be an
impeccably tailored black suit, also studded with rhinestones and with a Mexican-style
hat, that Pickett wore during the filming of the movie "Soul to Soul," in Zaire, Africa. His
personal clothes include suits, sport coats and tuxedos.

• An original abstract painting, commissioned in 1969. Three years after his 1966 smash
hit "Mustang Sally" rode the top of the charts, Pickett got the idea to have an oil-on-
canvas painting done that would symbolize not just the car he sang about, but love and
pain as well. The result was a stunning and massive work – measuring 96" x 48" -- that
hung in the entrance foyer of two residences, in New Jersey and Virginia. The unknown
artist's initials, "HB", appear on the work.

• Personal jewelry and household furnishings. Jewelry includes a 3.20-carat diamond
solitaire ring, appraised at $21,500; and a custom-made gold puzzle bracelet, appraised
at $4,500. Household furnishings include a custom-made dining set with a glass-top
sculpted metal frame table and matching upholstered chairs; a kitchen set that
complements the dining set; a wall-mounted dining room server; a wall-mounted bar unit;
two red leather sofas; and a white fabric living room sofa.

Additional items to be sold include travel cases for instruments and a pair of deer rifles
(Pickett was an avid hunter and fisherman). The rifles are a Weatherby 30.06 caliber and a
Magnum 380 game rifle, believed to have been used by the singer when he was on safari
in Africa. "That is something we can't substantiate or prove, but that's the story that goes
with the rifle," Maxwell said.

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama, one of eleven children.
As a young boy he sang in the local Baptist church choirs. At age 14, he went to live with
his father in Detroit, and it is there he developed a forceful, passionate style of singing
that would later become his signature. Pickett's gruff, throaty delivery produced some of
the most incendiary soul music of the '60s.

His first foray into professional music came as a member of the Violinaires, a gospel music
group formed in 1955. They performed mainly on church tours across the country.
Eventually, he was lured by the success of other gospel singers of the day, like Sam Cooke
and Aretha Franklin, who made the leap from church music to a more secular sound that
formed the basis of Motown music of the '60s.

Sadly, Wilson Pickett died a relatively lonely man, consumed by what his brother said was a
sense of abandonment at the end of his life. At his funeral, only Little Richard and
members of the singing group the Falcons (of which Pickett was a member in the 1950s)
paid their respects and spoke. Not a word, though, from Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke
and Bobby Womack, all longtime friends...
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Very sad, no?