Music
Eddie Floyd
born 1937 · singer, songwriter
Soul singer of "Knock on Wood" who came of age in Detroit, where he co-founded the Falcons in his uncle's music circle.
- Born
Montgomery, Alabama
age 89- Birth name
- Eddie Lee Floyd
- Detroit years
- 1950s–early 1960s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
After three years at a juvenile school in Alabama, where he began formal music study, Floyd moved to Detroit as a teenager to live with his aunt and uncle; his uncle, Robert West, was a Detroit music impresario and the founder of Lu Pine Records, the small label that also recorded the Primettes, the future Supremes. In Detroit Floyd became a founding member of the Falcons, the vocal group that later included Mack Rice, Joe Stubbs and Wilson Pickett and helped carry gospel style into R&B with "You're So Fine" (1959) and "I Found a Love" (1962). He moved on to Washington and then Memphis, where he became a Stax writer and artist; "Knock on Wood" (1966), written with Steve Cropper, topped the R&B chart. He also co-wrote hits for Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Wilson Pickett.
Highlights
- Founding member of the Falcons in Detroit
- "Knock on Wood" (1966): No. 1 R&B
- Co-wrote songs for Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Wilson Pickett
- Nephew of Lu Pine Records founder Robert West