Eddie Floyd

Eddie Floyd (Alabama, 25 giugno 1937) è un cantante, paroliere e compositore statunitense di musiche del genere Blues/Soul.
Quando gli attuali componenti della Blues Brothers Band si esibiscono, Eddie Floyd è una delle voci che hanno ormai sostituito il ruolo dei fratelli Blues Elwood e Jack Blues (alias Dan Aykroyd e John Belushi).
Eddie Floyd e Dan Aykroyd hanno però più volte cantanto insieme in alcuni concerti tenuti dalla band. Jim Belushi, fratello dello scomparso John Belushi ed anche l'attore John Goodman partecipano come voce in alcune apparizioni della band. John Goodman ha inoltre partecipato nella veste di cantante della band nel film "The Blues Brothers 2000", affiancando Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues).

Eddie Floyd

Eddie Floyd was born in June 25, 1935 in Montgomery, Alabama. Floyd grew up in Detroit, where his uncle Robert West founded the Lupine and Flick labels, two early rivals to Berry Gordy's early Motown empire. It is there that he cofounded the Falcons, initially a racially integrated group, in 1955. It was West that arranged the Falcon's record contract with Mercury Records where they recorded without success until a 1957 personnel change that resulted in a new lead singer Joe Stubbs. The Falcons had a Top Twenty Pop hit with "Your So Fine" in 1959.

Following a few less successful singles, Stubbs left and was replaced by Wilson Pickett. This group of Falcons recorded "I Found a Love, backed by another Lupine group the Primettes that would become the Supremes. After some successes in the Falcons disbanded in 1963. Eddie Floyd then worked with Al Bell, who directed a small production company in Safice, Washington. When Bell left to go to Stax Records Floyd went to work with him in Memphis in 1965.

Working as a songwriter and producer (in particular for Carla Thomas ("Comfort Me"), and William Bell), Floyd co-wrote with Steve Cropper and recorded " Knock One Wood " in 1965. The song, come out into 1966 and was a resounding success (#28), winning an R&B Award.

Floyd recorded for Stax and managed to put twelve songs in the Top 100 between 1966 to 1970. The most successful of these were "Knock On Wood," 1968's "I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)," a cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me" (#17) and "California Girl in 1970. More than any of his other accomplishments, many people today associate Eddie with his 1966 hit recording "Knock On Wood," a song that was originally intended for Otis Redding.

Eddie also wrote songs for his bandmate from the Falcons, Wilson Pickett, after the latter had moved to the Atlantic Records. Pickett had a big hit with a song that Eddie had co-written, "634-5789 (Soulsville, USA)," in 1966. Floyd continued to write songs in the 70's, some of which became hits on the R&B charts.

Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, and Johnny Lang appear in the 1998 movie Blues Brothers 2000 and performed 634-5789. Floyd and Pickett played the proprietors of "Ed's Love Exchange," which according to the storyline in the movie can be reached at –you guessed it – 1-900-634-5789.

Floyd wrote many hits for many artists, in particular for Wilson Pickett: (" Ninety-Nine and has Half " and " 634-5789 ", with Steve Cropper) and for Otis Redding (" Don't Mess with Cupid "). He had several hits in the Seventies, with songs like " Raise Your Hand " into 67, " Big Bird " (in homage at Otis Redding after he had died) in 68, "Bring It One Home" and " I've Never Found has Girl " into 72 (Co-written with Booker T Jones), always at Stax, where he remain until Stax folded in 1975. Some of his songs become true standards, like " Knock One Wood "which was interpreted by artists as different as Otis Redding, David Bowie, James Taylor or Ella Fitzgerald.

Floyd remained very active appearing with the Blues Brothers Band and occasionally touring the U.S. and Europe as part of the Stax Revue, but the financially failing Stax label took Floyd's career down with it. In 1977 Floyd recorded a disco record Experience for Malaco, but he couldn't compete with the new generation of disco singers. In 1989 he reunited with several Stax/Atlantic artists for President Bush's inaugural ball. The next month he joined Steve Cropper as a special guest on the Blues Brothers Band world tour. Floyd continues to perform around the world.

Floyd's own mid-'60s output included "Raise Your Hand," which utilized the same Booker T. & the MGs-powered thrust as "Knock on Wood," and "Big Bird," written partially in shocked response to the tragic death of Redding. Floyd remained loyal to Stax right up to its bitter demise, his engaging vocals resulting in major hits with the gentle "I've Never Found a Girl" and a lively remake of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me."

Whenever Floyd re-teams with his old Stax pals – guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Duck Dunn, and sometimes Booker T. Jones on organ – the long-ago Memphis magic instantly returns. With Floyd happily leading the throngs through "Raise Your Hand" and "Knock on Wood," it's 1966 all over again.

Eddie Floyd (born Eddie Lee Floyd, June 25, 1935 in Montgomery, Alabama) is a soul/R&B singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s and the song "Knock on Wood".

Biography

Floyd was born in Alabama, but grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He founded The Falcons, which also featured Mack Rice. 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.
Floyd signed on with the Memphis based Stax Records as a songwriter in 1965. 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 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 USA)".
In 1966, Floyd recorded a song intended 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, and has been cut by over a hundred different artists from David Bowie to Count Basie. 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 Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" and "Raise Your Hand", 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. 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.
As well as singing with The Blues Brothers Band, Floyd as 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 released in July 2008.
Discography

Singles
Single A-Side B-Side
Safice 334 "Never Get Enough Of Your Love" "Baby Bye"
Safice 336 "I'll Be Home For Christmas" "Can This Be Christmas"
Safice 338 "Make up Your Mind" "No, No, No"
Stax 187 "Things Get Better" "Good Love, Bad Love"
Stax 194 "Knock on Wood" "Got To Make A Comeback"
Stax 208 "Raise Your Hand" "I've Just Been Feeling Bad"
Stax 219 "Don't Rock The Boat" "This House"
Stax 223 "Love Is A Doggone Good Thing" "Hey Now"
Stax 233 "On A Saturday Night" "Under My Nose"
Stax 246 "Big Bird" "Holding On With Both Hands"
Stax 0002 "On A Saturday Night" "Under My Nose"
Stax 0012 "I've Never Found A Girl" "I'm Just the Kind Of Fool"
Stax 0025 "I've Got to Have Your Love" "Girl I Love You"
Stax 0036 "Don't Tell Your Mama" "Consider Me"
Stax 0040 "Soul-A-Lujah Pt. I" (with W. Bell, C. Thomas & J. Taylor) "Pt. II" (instrumental)
Stax 0051 "Why Is The Wine Sweeter?" "People Get It Together"
Stax 0060 "California Girl" "Woodman"
Stax 0072 "My Girl" "Laurie"
Stax 0077 "Best Years of My Life" "My Little Girl"
Stax 0087 "Oh, How It Rained" "When My Baby Said Goodbye"
Stax 0095 "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" "Have You Heard The Word"
Stax 0109 "Yum Yum Yum (I Want Some)" "Tears of Joy"
Stax 0134 "You're Good Enough (To Me Baby)" "Spend All You Have On Love"
Stax 0158 "Lay Your Loving On Me" "Knock On Wood" (live)
Stax 0171 "Baby Lay Your Head Down" "Check Me Out"
Stax 0188 "I Wanna Do Things For You" "We've Been Through Too Much Together"
Stax 0209 "Guess Who" "Something To Write Home About"
Stax 0216 "Soul Street" "Highway Man"
Stax 0232 "I Got A Reason To Smile" "Stealing Love"
Stax 0239 "Talk To The Man" "I Got A Reason To Smile"
Albums
Knock on Wood - (1967) - Stax
Looking Back - (1968) - Ember Records
Never Found a Girl - (1969) - Stax
Rare Stamps - (1969) - Stax
You've Got to Have Eddie - (1969) - Stax
California Girl - (1970) - Stax
Down to Earth - (1971) - Stax
Baby Lay Your Head Down - (1973) - Stax
Soul Street - (1974) - Stax
Experience - (1978) - Malaco Records
Flashback - (1988) - Ichiban Records
Gotta Make a Comeback - (1999) - Plane Records
To the Bone - (2002) - Rock House Records
Eddie Loves You So - (2008) - Stax