Knock on Wood (Eddie Floyd song)

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"Knock on Wood"
Knock on Wood by Eddie Floyd US vinyl single Side-A.png
US single release of the original Eddie Floyd recording
Single by Eddie Floyd
from the album Knock on Wood
B-side "Got to Make a Comeback"
ReleasedJuly 25, 1966 [1]
RecordedJuly 13, 1966 [2]
Studio Stax, Memphis [2]
Genre
Length3:06 [5]
Label Stax
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jim Stewart
Eddie Floyd singles chronology
"Things Get Better"
(1966)
"Knock on Wood"
(1966)
"Raise Your Hand"
(1967)
Audio
"Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd on YouTube

"Knock on Wood" is a song by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper released as a single by Floyd in 1966. [6] The song was later covered by other artists, most notably Amii Stewart in 1979. Stewart's disco version was the most successful on weekly music charts.

Contents

Eddie Floyd version

"Knock On Wood" was written in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee (now The National Civil Rights Museum). Steve Cropper has stated in interviews that there was a lightning storm the night that he and Eddie wrote the song, hence the lyrics 'It's like thunder, lightning, The way you love me is frightening'. The song was based on another song co-written by Cropper, the Wilson Pickett version of "In the Midnight Hour" (1965), having the same chord progression "only played in reverse". [7]

According to Floyd, "Knock On Wood" was initially written for Otis Redding. However, Stax label manager Jim Stewart turned down the idea of Redding recording the song. [8] Both sides of the single were recorded on July 13, 1966 at Stax Records house studio in Memphis, Tennessee, [2] with Stax's house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s (Cropper on guitar, Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass, Al Jackson Jr. on drums, Booker T. Jones on keyboards), Isaac Hayes on piano and Wayne Jackson on trumpet. [9] Stewart produced the session. [1]

"Knock on Wood" was released as a single by Stax on July 25, 1966, featuring "Got to Make a Comeback" on the B-side. [1] His recording peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at number 1 on the Soul Singles chart. [10] Floyd's version earned a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 17, 1995. [11] The song became the title track for Floyd's debut album, released on January 26, 1967. [1]

Chart (1966)Peak
position
Canada RPM [12] 67
UK Singles (OCC) [13] 19
US Billboard Hot 100 [14] 28
US Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles ( Billboard ) [15] 1

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas version

"Knock on Wood"
Single by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas
from the album King & Queen
B-side "Let Me Be Good To You"
ReleasedSeptember 1967
Genre Soul
Length2:48
Label Stax 601021
Songwriter(s)
  • Eddie Floyd
  • Steve Cropper
Audio
"Knock on Wood" by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas on YouTube
Chart (1967)Peak
position
Canada RPM [16] 29
UK Singles (OCC) [17] 35
UK R&B ( Record Mirror ) [18] 8
US Billboard Hot 100 [19] 30
US Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles ( Billboard ) [20] 8

David Bowie version

Weekly charts

"Knock on Wood"
Knock on Wood (live) by David Bowie 1974 UK vinyl single A-side.png
1974 UK vinyl single of the David Bowie recording
Single by David Bowie
from the album David Live
B-side "Panic in Detroit"
Released13 September 1974 [21]
Genre Blues rock
Length3:08
Label RCA
Songwriter(s)
  • Eddie Floyd
  • Steve Cropper
David Bowie singles chronology
"1984"
(1974)
"Knock on Wood"
(1974)
"Rock 'n' Roll with Me"
(1974)
Audio
"Knock on Wood" (from David Live) on YouTube
Chart (1979)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [32] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [33] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [34] 20
Canadian Top Singles (RPM) [35] 1
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) [36] 1
Canada Disco Singles (RPM) [37] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [38] 15
France (SNEP) [39] 2
Ireland (IRMA) [25] 15
Italy ( Musica e dischi ) [40] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [41] 7
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [42] 10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [43] 3
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [44] 9
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [45] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [46] 2
UK Singles (OCC) [47] 6
US Billboard Hot 100 [48] 1
US Hot Disco Singles ( Billboard ) [48] 5
US Hot Soul Singles ( Billboard ) [48] 6
US Cash Box Top 1001
West Germany (GfK) [49] 13
Chart (1985)
"Knock on Wood/Light My Fire" (Remix)
Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop) [50] 32
Ireland (IRMA) [25] 6
UK Singles (OCC) [47] 7
Chart (1999)
"Knock on Wood '99"
Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [51] 92
France (SNEP) [39] 73

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [52] 9
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [53] 25
Canada Top Singles (RPM) [54] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [55] 69
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [56] 12
UK Singles (OCC) [57] 38
US Billboard Hot 100 [58] 22
West Germany (Official German Charts) [59] 31

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [60] Platinum150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [61] Silver250,000^
United States (RIAA) [62] Platinum2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other cover versions

External media
Audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" (live, 1968) by Buddy Guy on YouTube
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" by Cher on YouTube
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" (live in New Orleans, 1991) by Toots and the Maytals on YouTube
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" by Michael Bolton on YouTube
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" (radio edit) by Mary Griffin on YouTube
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" (Love to Infinity extended vocal mix) by Mary Griffin on YouTube
Nuvola apps arts.svg "Knock on Wood" (Now mix) by Mary Griffin on YouTube
Video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "Knock on Wood" by Mary Griffin (from the film 54, 1998) on YouTube

Buddy Guy performed the song numerous times, one of which is included in his live 1968 album This Is Buddy Guy! [63] At the ninety-minute Bradley Center concert in January 31, 1992, he performed the song for fifteen minutes as the concert's finale. [64] At a February 1992 concert in the Students' Union Building of the University of Alberta, he also performed the song with a wireless transmitter among the audience for twenty minutes. One of band members at the University concert was bassist Greg Rzab. [65] Guy's another song performance at the Blues Music Festival '92 (August 28, 1992) lasted ten minutes while he walked around the audience in the Marcus Amphitheater (Milwaukee). [66] [67]

Cher recorded her version for her 1976 album I'd Rather Believe in You . Boston Globe critic Christopher Muther in 2019 ranked this version number 16 out of his 25 favorite cover songs by Cher, calling it "a shockingly good disco-funk interpretation". [68]

Razzy Bailey's version (1984) peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on the week ending September 29, 1984, the version's ninth week. [69] [70] Toots Hibbert's reggae version, recorded for his album Toots in Memphis (1988), debuted and peaked at number 43 on the New Zealand Singles Chart on the week ending April 9, 1988. [71] [72]

The Blues Brothers performed the song live in Montreux in 1990 and at a faster pace than Floyd's original recording; the performance was recorded into the band's 1990 live album. Among the band members at the concert were Eddie Floyd (as the lead singer) and Steve Cropper—both the song's writers—and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn. [72]

Michael Bolton covered it for his 1992 album Timeless: The Classics . The Milwaukee Sentinel music critic Dave Tianen wrote that, in Timeless, Bolton's renditions of classic songs, like this song, are "almost identical to the original" and called them "more an impression than an interpretation." Tianen further wrote, "Classic performances by definition aren't easily surpassed." [73]

A singer Mary Griffin recorded her disco/dance version for the 1998 film 54 ; Griffin's recording was released that same year as a promotional single. The Billboard magazine noted in 1998 that Stewart's version is "tough" to render, but it praised Griffin's "vocal prowess, attitude, and range of a true ingenuine" in spirit of Stewart's version, especially in the "movie mix" track of the promo-only release. [74]

References

References

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Sources