SOLOMON BURKE GETS THE PARTY STARTED
He may not be the king of rock & roll, but Solomon Burke sure acted like it as he honored the late Wilson Pickett from his plush throne. Burke sat patiently onstage for nearly a half an hour, waiting for the industry crowd to take their seats before launching into ''634-5789'' and commanding everyone to get up and dance. For raucous versions of ''Mustang Sally'' and ''Land of 1000 Dances,'' he was joined by new-soul representatives Leela James (pictured with Burke) and Marc Broussard — and, surprisingly, they held their own. A worthy tribute and much-needed jump start to a loooong night.