Wilson Pickett: "Land of a Thousand Dances" live Ghana (1971) "Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song's best-known version was Wilson Pickett's 1966 recording, which became a Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1 and his biggest ever pop hit. Wilson Pickett recorded the song during his first set of sessions at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and the Memphis Horns. (He ha