EDDIE FLOYD
A prolific songwriter, Eddie Floyd is best remembered for 1966's "Knock On Wood."
He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on June 25, 1937, and grew up in Detroit. He was a founding member of the Falcons, a doo-wop (and later soul) group whose line-up at various times included Mack Rice (writer of “Mustang Sally”), Joe Stubbs (brother of the Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs), and Wilson Pickett. Their two biggest hits were “You’re So Fine” (1959) and “I Found a Love” (1962).
Floyd’s first solo releases came out in the early ‘60s on Detroit’s Lu Pine Records. By 1964, he had moved on to the Safice label, for whom Floyd released three singles. He signed with the Memphis-based Stax Records in 1965 and promptly wrote “Comfort Me,” a hit song for labelmate Carla Thomas. Floyd then teamed up with Stax guitarist (and member of Booker T. & The MGs) Steve Cropper to write songs for Wilson Pickett, who now recorded for Atlantic (which distributed Stax). The Pickett sessions yielded several hit singles, including the Floyd-written “634-5789 (Soulsville U.S.A.)” and “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do).”
In 1966, Floyd recorded a song that he and Cropper had written for Otis Redding. Atlantic’s Jerry Wexler convinced Jim Stewart of Stax to release Floyd’s version as a single. In the fall of 1966, “Knock On Wood” hit #1 on the Rhythm & Blues chart and reached #28 pop. Despite its mild crossover success, “Knock On Wood” went on to become a staple of oldies radio. It also produced more than 100 cover versions by artists as diverse as Count Basie and David Bowie. And a 1979 disco remake by Amii Stewart hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Other Floyd songs that produced cover versions included “Raise Your Hand” (Janis Joplin) and “I’ve Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)” (Bruce Springsteen). Floyd wrote his 1968 song “Big Bird” while sitting in a London airport, waiting for a flight home to attend Otis Redding’s funeral. Though not a U.S. hit, “Big Bird” became an underground favorite, producing remakes by acts like Alex Chilton and The Jam.
Eddie Floyd was one of Stax’s most prolific songwriters. He penned hits for Sam & Dave (“You Don’t Know What You Mean to Me),” Otis Redding (“I Love You More Than Words Can Say”), Rufus Thomas (“The Breakdown”), and Johnnie Taylor (“Just the One (I’ve Been Looking For”), among others.
In 1980, Floyd joined his old Stax collaborators, Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn, and fronted the Blues Brothers Band on a series of tours. In 1998, Floyd and Wilson Pickett appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000, performing a duet of “634-5789.” In 2008, Floyd returned to Stax and released Eddie Loves You, his first album of new material in several years.
In November 2012, Eddie Floyd was inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. That same year, Floyd received a brass note on the Beale Street Brass Notes Walk of Fame in Memphis.
On September 1, 2017, Floyd, now 80, performed at the Royal Albert Hall for a BBC a 50th anniversary tribute to Stax. And in February 2020, Rock House Records released Eddie Floyd’s unissued 1979 recording, “Guess It Wasn’t Meant to Be.”
Charted singles:
“Knock On Wood” (1966) R&B #1 (1 week), Pop #28
“Raise Your Hand” (1967) R&B #16, Pop #79
“Don’t Rock the Boat” (1967) Pop #98
“Love Is a Doggone Good Thing” (1967) R&B #30, Pop #97
“On a Saturday Night” (1967) R&B #22, Pop #92
“Big Bird” (1968) Pop #132
“I’ve Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)” (1968) R&B #2, Pop #40
“Bring It On Home to Me” (1968) R&B #4, Pop #17
“I’ve Got to Have Your Love” (1968) R&B #50, Pop #102
“Don’t Tell Your Mama (Where You’ve Been)” (1968) R&B #18, Pop #73
“Why Is the Wine Sweeter (On the Other Side)” (1969) R&B #30, Pop #98
“California Girl” (1970) R&B #11, Pop #45
“My Girl” (1970) R&B #43, Pop #116
“The Best Years of My Life” (1970) R&B #29, Pop #118
“Blood Is Thicker Than Water” (1971) R&B #33
“Yum Yum Yum (I Want Some)” (1972) R&B #49, Pop #122
“Baby, Lay Your Head Down” (1973) R&B #50
“Check Me Out” (1973) R&B #58
“Soul Street” (1974) R&B #65
