Fact #187241

Solomon Burke : Wilson Pickett wrote If You Need Me, and played it for me while we were on tour together. I said, 'Pickett, this song's a smash.' Now, Pickett's so smooth, he gets his managers to put up the money for the demo and shows up with it at one of my recording sessions. I go into the studio, and (Bert) Berns and Jerry Wexler start playing me Hang On Sloopy. I didn't like it. 'What do you mean?' Wexler says.'This is a hit song!' I said, 'Man, that ain't my bag. Wilson Pickett got a song. He's sittin' out there in the hallway.' Wilson plays the demo and Jerry likes it. We cut If You Need Me, gave Wilson some money, and the minute his managers find out Atlantic Records bought the song, they start pressing up Pickett's demo on Double L Records.

So now the race is on. And I'm not helping Atlantic much myself. Jerry puts me on a cross-country promotional tour to push my version of the song, and I'm gettin' on the air talkin' about this great song If You Need Me by Wilson Pickett. Jerry went crazy! 'Is there something wrong with your head?' 'Nope,' I told him, cuz now they're playing both our records back to back.
(Source : not known)