Soul singer/songwriter Eddie Floyd scored one of the defining hits of the Memphis soul sound with "Knock on Wood," a number one R&B smash that typified the STAX house style at its grittiest. Floyd was born in Montgomery, AL, in 1935, but grew up in Detroit, where his uncle Robert West owned a couple of record labels, including Lupine. In 1955, Floyd co-founded the seminal proto-soul group the Falcons, who eventually scored a major R&B hit with "You're So Fine" in 1959 (with Joe Stubbs, later of the Contours and 100 Proof Aged in Soul, as lead singer). After Stubbs' departure, Floyd spent a brief period as the Falcons' lead singer, until Wilson Pickett joined up. Now recording for West's Lupine imprint, the Falcons and Pickett cut their second undisputed classic, the gospel-inflected ballad "I Found a Love," in 1962. Pickett subsequently went solo, and the Falcons broke up in 1963.
Floyd recorded a few solo sides for Lupine, and moved to Washington, D.C., for a time to work with his DJ friend, Al Bell; the two founded a label and production company, Safice, co-writing songs and releasing Floyd's recordings. When Bell accepted a job as promotions director at STAX, Floyd followed him to Memphis, where he signed on with STAX as a staff writer and producer. He worked chiefly with Carla Thomas and William Bell at first, and often wrote in tandem with house guitarist Steve Cropper. In early 1966, their composition "634-5789 (Soulsville, USA)" became a number one R&B hit for Wilson Pickett; around the same time, Floyd released his first single for STAX, "Things Get Better," which failed to chart. That summer, Floyd cut "Knock on Wood," another song he'd written with Cropper; initially intended for Otis Redding, the tune wasn't big with STAX management because it was strongly based on the chord changes of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour." However, distributor Atlantic smelled a hit, and released the song nationally; their instincts proved correct, as "Knock on Wood" became STAX's third number one R&B hit by the end of the year (strangely, it barely made the Top 30 on the pop charts). Floyd followed his instant soul classic with several more Top 40 R&B hits over the next four years, including "Raise Your Hand," "Love Is a Doggone Good Thing," "On a Saturday Night," "I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" (his second biggest hit), and a cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me."
In spite of diminishing commercial returns, Floyd stayed with STAX as a performer and writer right up to the label's bankruptcy in 1975. He spent two years with the Southern soul/blues label Malaco, recording the album Experience in 1977; while it was regionally popular, the Southern soul sound had long since fallen out of commercial favor. A brief stint at Mercury failed to remake Floyd for the disco age, and after recording with British mod revivalists Secret Affair, he largely drifted away from the studio. Floyd attempted a comeback on Ichiban with 1988's Flashback album; the following year, he performed at President Bush's inaugural ball, and went on to tour with the Blues Brothers Band. In 1998, Floyd made a guest appearance in Blues Brothers 2000, and also performed "634-5789" with Pickett and Jonny Lang. Meanwhile, countless artists have covered "Knock on Wood," most prominently a disco version by Amii Stewart that topped the pop charts in 1979.
-- Steve Huey of All Music Guide.
01. Knock On Wood 02. Something You Got 03. But It's Alright 04. I Stand Accused 05. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody 06. I Don't Want To Cry |
07. Raise Your Hand 08. Got To Make A comeback 09. 634-5789 10. I've Just Been Feeling Bad 11. High-Heel Sneakers 12. Warm And Tender Love |
01. Bring It On Home To Me 02. Never Give You Up 03. Girl I Love You 04. Hobo 05. I Need You Woman 06. I've Never Found A Girl 07. I'll Take Her 08. Slip Away 09. I'm Just The Kind Of Fool 10. Water 11. Sweet Things You Do 12. Knock On Wood 13. Raise Your Hand |
14. Love Is A Doggone Good Thing 15. On A Saturday Night 16. Things Get Better 17. Big Bird 18. Got To Make A Comeback 19. I've Just Been Feeling Bad 20. This House 21. I've Got To Have Your Love 22. Consider Me 23. Never, Never Let You Go 24. Ain't That Good 25. Laurie |
01. Something To Write Home About 02. We've Been Through Too Much Together 03. Whatcha Gonna Do With My Heart 04. I Wanna Do Things For You 05. Baby Lay Your Head Down |
06. Highwayman 07. I Hear Footsteps (coming closer) 08. 'Til I Lost You 09. Check Me Out 10. Lay Your Loving On Me |
01. Soul Street 02. I Don't Want To Be With Nobody But My Baby 03. Stealing Love 04. I Am So Grateful 05. Don't You Know That It's Alright |
06. Guess Who? 07. Stop, Look What You're Doing To Me 08. I Am So Glad I Met You 09. Your Love Is Amazin' 10. Stick With Me Baby |
01. I've Never Found A Girl 02. Bring It On Home To Me 03. I've Got To Have Your Love 04. Don't Tell Your Mama 05. Why Is The Wine Sweeter 06. California Girl 07. My Girl |
08. The Best Years Of My Life 09. Blood Is Thicker Than Water 10. Yum Yum Yum (I want some) 11. Check Me Out 12. Baby Lay Your Head Down 13. Soul Street |
01. Flashback 02. Love's Gonna Get To You 03. From Your Head To Your Toes 04. Soul Is Back Again 05. She Likes The Soaps 06. You Don't Say No 07. Pretty Girls 08. Gonna satisfy You 09. Daddy's Coming Home |
01. To The Bone 02. Show It To Me 03. Trouble In Our Home 04. Maintenance Man 05. Piece Of You |
06. I Love 07. You Don't Say No 08. Nosey Neighbors 09. I Heard It Through The Walls 10. Double Your Pleasure |