Eddie Floyd

Eddie Floyd

Eddie Floyd in 2000
Background information
Birth name Edward Lee Floyd
Born (1937-06-25) June 25, 1937
Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Genres Southern soul, R&B, soul
Occupation(s) Songwriter, musician
Years active 1956–present
Labels Stax, Concord
Associated acts The Falcons, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Website Eddiefloyd.com

Edward Lee "Eddie" Floyd (born June 25, 1937)[1][2] is an American soul/R&B singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s including the #1 R&B hit song "Knock on Wood".

Biography

Floyd was born in Montgomery, Alabama, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan.[1] He founded The Falcons, which also featured Mack Rice.[1] They were forerunners to future Detroit vocal groups such as The Temptations and The Four Tops. Their most successful songs included "You're So Fine" and later, when Wilson Pickett was recruited into the group as the lead singer, "I Found a Love". Pickett then embarked on a solo career, and The Falcons disbanded.[1]

Floyd signed a contract with the Memphis based Stax Records as a songwriter in 1965.[1] He wrote a hit song, "Comfort Me" recorded by Carla Thomas. He then teamed with Stax's guitarist Steve Cropper to write songs for Wilson Pickett, now signed to Atlantic Records. Atlantic distributed Stax and Jerry Wexler brought Pickett down from New York City to work with Booker T. & the MGs. The Pickett sessions were successful, yielding several pop and R&B hits, including the Floyd co-written "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" and "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)".[1]

In 1966, Floyd recorded a song initially written for Otis Redding. Wexler convinced Stax president Jim Stewart to release Floyd's version. The Steve Cropper/Eddie Floyd "Knock on Wood" launched Floyd's solo career,[1] and has been cut by over a hundred different artists from David Bowie to Count Basie. Eventually, Redding would cut an R&B hit version of the song in 1967 as a duet with Carla Thomas. It became a disco hit for Amii Stewart in 1979.

Floyd was one of Stax's most consistent and versatile artists. He scored several more hits on his own, including "I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" and "Raise Your Hand",[1] which was covered by both Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen.

The song "Big Bird" (featuring Booker T. Jones on organ and guitar, Al Jackson, Jr. on drums, and Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass) was written while Floyd waited in a London airport for a plane back to the United States for Otis Redding's funeral. Although not a US hit, it became an underground favorite in the UK, was later covered by The Jam, and was featured on the video game Test Drive Unlimited.

Floyd's career did not keep him from being one of the label's most productive writers. Virtually every Stax artist recorded Floyd material, often co-written with either Cropper or Jones, including Sam & Dave ("You Don't Know What You Mean to Me"), Rufus Thomas ("The Breakdown"), Otis Redding ("I Love You More Than Words Can Say"), and Johnnie Taylor's "Just the One (I've Been Looking For)". The latter played during the opening credits of director Harold Ramis's film Bedazzled.

Floyd, in 1980, also released material on the UK record label I-Spy Records owned and created by the UK band Secret Affair.[1] He joined old Stax collaborators Cropper and Dunn, and fronted The Blues Brothers Band on a series of world tours, and in 1998, Floyd and former Falcon Wilson Pickett appeared on screen dueting on "634-5789" in Blues Brothers 2000.[1]

As well as singing with The Blues Brothers Band, Floyd has been the special guest with former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings on several dates in the US and the UK.

In 2008, Floyd returned to Stax Records which is now owned by Concord Music Group. His first new album in six years, Eddie Loves You So, was released in July 2008.[1][3] In December 2012, Eddie Floyd released a new album at Christmas Time. Eddie also has a son Anthony Floyd that also sings with him. In July 2013, Eddie Floyd released Down by the Sea.

He was been named to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and received a brass note on the Beale Street Brass Notes Walk of Fame in 2016.

Discography

Singles

Year Single
(US)
A-Side B-Side Chart Positions
US Pop[4] US
R&B
[5]
UK[6]
1962 Lu Pine 115 "Will I Be The One" "Set My Soul on Fire"
Lu Pine 122 "A Deed To Your Heart" "I'll Be Home"
1964 Safice 334 "Never Get Enough of Your Love" "Baby Bye"
Safice 336 "I'll Be Home For Christmas" "Can This Be Christmas"
1965 Safice 338 "Make up Your Mind" "No, No, No"
Atlantic 2275 "Hush Hush" "Drive On"
1966 Stax 187 "Things Get Better" "Good Love, Bad Love" 31
(1967)
Stax 194 "Knock on Wood" "Got To Make A Comeback" 28 1 19
1967 Stax 208 "Raise Your Hand" "I've Just Been Feeling Bad" 79 16 42
Stax 219 "Don't Rock The Boat" "This House" 98
Stax 223 "Love Is A Doggone Good Thing" "Hey Now" 97 30
Stax 233 "On A Saturday Night" "Under My Nose" 92 22
Stax 246 "Big Bird" "Holding on With Both Hands" 132
1968 Stax 0002 "I've Never Found A Girl" "I'm Just the Kind of Fool" 40 2
Stax 0012 "Bring It On Home To Me" "Sweet Things You Do" 17 4
1969 Stax 0025 "I've Got to Have Your Love" "Girl I Love You" 102 50
Stax 0036 "Don't Tell Your Mama (Where You've Been)" "Consider Me" 73 18
Stax 0040 "Soul-A-Lujah Pt. I" (with W. Bell, C. Thomas & J. Taylor) "Pt. II" (instrumental)
Stax 0051 "Why Is The Wine Sweeter (On The Other Side)" "People Get It Together" 98 30
1970 Stax 0060 "California Girl" "Woodman" 45 11
Stax 0072 "My Girl" "Laurie" 116 43
Stax 0077 "The Best Years of My Life" "My Little Girl" 118 29
1971 Stax 0087 "Oh, How It Rained" "When My Baby Said Goodbye"
Stax 0095 "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" "Have You Heard The Word" 33
1972 Stax 0109 "Yum Yum Yum (I Want Some)" "Tears of Joy" 122 49
Stax 0134 "You're Good Enough (To Me Baby)" "Spend All You Have on Love"
1973 Stax 0158 "Lay Your Loving on Me" "Knock on Wood" (live)
Stax 0171 "Baby Lay Your Head Down" "Check Me Out" 50 /
58
Stax 0188 "I Wanna Do Things For You" "We've Been Through Too Much Together"
1974 Stax 0209 "Guess Who" "Something To Write Home About"
Stax 0216 "Soul Street" "Highway Man" 65
Stax 0232 "I Got A Reason To Smile" "Stealing Love"
1975 Stax 0239 "Talk to the Man" "I Got A Reason To Smile"
Stax 0251 "I'm So Glad I Met You" "I'm So Grateful"
1977 Malaco 1032 "Somebody Touch Me" "Never Too Old"
Mercury 73964 "It's Me" "If You Really Love Me"
1978 Mercury 74003 "Disco Summer" "Do It in the Water"

Albums

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Biography by Steve Huey". Allmusic.com. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  2. Eddiefloyd.com His birth year is open to speculation. His official website (Eddiefloyd.com) states 1937, although most other third-party reliable sources cite 1935
  3. Stax50.com news
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 250. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B Singles: 1942–1995. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 152. ISBN 0-89820-115-2.
  6. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 287. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.