Can you believe that back in the day (December 1975 to be exact) singer, Wilson Pickett (pictured above), decided to play a game of ‘shoot em up bang bang’ against the Isley Brothers?!! It’s true, but the only problem is that Pickett was the only willing participant in this situation. You see, the Isley’s weren’t actually in on the game, as a matter of fact, it wasn’t a game at all. Our man, Pickett, was stone serious when he tried to land a few bullets in a couple of the Isley’s!
How did this even happen, you ask? Well, it turns out Wilson Pickett was flat out drunk that night and after he and the Isley’s got into an argument, all HELL broke loose. I guess it’s never wise to mix pistols, alcohol, and quick tempers together in one setting.
What Had Happened Was…
Wilson Pickett and The Isley Brothers went on a hunting trip in Andes, New York, when the incident occurred and according to police reports, Pickett was extremely drunk when he started causing a disturbance in The Andes Hotel. Rudolph Isley (pictured below, top row, far right) and O’Kelly Isley (pictured below, bottom row, left), along with two other men, tried to get Pickett to tone his temper down about thousand notches, by taking him into a parking lot to talk to him. As they were trying to calm down “Wicked” Wilson Pickett, a fight broke out between all of them and the drama escalated from there.
The Isley Brothers and the two unidentified men eventually went into a hotel room and locked the door, but Pickett sniffed them out and was still just as drunk and angry as he was moments earlier. So, he did what any quick tempered drunk man with a pistol would do- he fired shots right through the door of The Isley Brothers’ hotel room, with a .38 caliber two shot Derringer.
Needless to say, the police showed up and arrested Wilson Pickett, charging him with first-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a dangerous weapon. He was released on $500 bail.
Not sure what Pickett’s relationship was like with the Isley’s after that. What do you say to your fellow work colleagues after you tried to shoot them? ‘Hey man…look here, I apologize for trying to pump some bullets in y’all, I didn’t mean any harm, I was drunk?’ Crazy, right? LOL. I guess the Isley’s never let their guards down around Wilson Pickett again.
Pickett’s Reported Violent Incident With Former New Jersey Mayor
Now that wasn’t “Wicked” Wilson’s only riled up incident. He once allegedly became angry at the then mayor of Englewood, New Jersey (where Wilson was living), Mayor Donald Aronson, and decided to do what he presumably believed to be the most logical thing to do when one doesn’t like someone. He did donuts in his Cadillac right there on the front lawn of the mayor’s house, while shouting threats at the mayor…WOW. That Wilson Pickett was something else, I tell ya.’
There’s no denying that Pickett and the Isley Brothers are incredible artists though and besides, we, soul music fans, would much rather jam to their music that grown folks can make LOVE to…not WAR. Can I get an Amen somebody?!!
-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view
