Eddie Floyd, Knock on Wood | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 125^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Knock on Wood” by southern soul singer, Eddie Floyd.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 125^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Knock on Wood” performed by Eddie Floyd.

“It’s like thunder, lightnin’ / The way you love me is frightenin’ / I better knock on wood, baby.”  Southern soul musician Eddie Floyd struck gold with “Knock on Wood” which was released as a single in 1966. It appears as the opening track from his 1967 album, Knock on Wood.  Fitting right? Right! Floyd and Steve Cropper penned the beloved soul classic while Jim Stewart produced it.  While Floyd never broke through in the top 10 of the pop charts, he scored three top 40 hits.  “Knock on Wood,” the second-highest charting of the three behind “Bring It On Home To Me”, peaked at no. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1966. Also, in 1995, the single was certified gold.

There’s plenty to love about “Knock on Wood.” The star, Floyd, is a charismatic, commanding, and powerful lead vocalist.  He gives his all in his performance, oozing with soul. His lead is amplified by fabulous, harmonized background vocals in the song’s most epic section, the chorus (excerpted above).  While the chorus is the cat’s meow, the verses are sublime.  “I would surely, surely lose a lot / ‘Cause her love is better than any love I know,” he sings passionately in the first.  In the second, he asserts, “Got me spinnin’, baby, baby, I’m in a trance.” Why? “‘Cause your love is better than any love I know,” of course! Besides epic vocals, memorable lyrics, and tuneful melodies, the instrumental accompaniment is lit.  The horn arrangement is stellar, comprised of brilliant instrumental hits and riffs. The rhythm section sounds sickening: rhythm guitar, fat bass line, and the anchoring groove of the drums. The instruments shine further in the instrumental bridge, a break that sounds unrelated to the rest of the song.  “Knock on Wood” is undoubtedly one of the best soul cuts from the 1960s and soul music overall. Bravo, Eddie Floyd!

Eddie Floyd // Knock On Wood // Atlantic // 1967

Eddie Floyd, Knock on Wood: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 125 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]