Eddie Floyd - Soul Street

The links that patsoul generously added to the previous Eddie Floyd post have made me aware that the version of this that I have actually encompasses the last two Stax albums, Baby Lay Your Head Down and Soul Street.These are the last two chapters in Eddie's Stax output.

Eddie Floyd - Rare Stamps

Here ya go frankie!

 Rare Stamps was an odd release. It would appear to have been meant as something of a greatest hits album even though it is only his 3rd album of 8 on Stax. Five of the tracks here come from those first two albums but seven more singles culled from the same period make it essential, at least until we finally get that complete Eddie Floyd Stax set from someone like Ace. For now, to fill in your Stax sides, you will need this one too.

I do have Eddie's final Stax album Soul Street ready to go but there is a 4 album gap before that:

 You've Got to Have Eddie - (1969) - Stax
California Girl - (1970) - Stax
Down to Earth - (1971) - Stax
Baby Lay Your Head Down - (1973) - Stax 

Let's see if someone offers up any of these titles before I jump ahead to Soul Street.

Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood & I've Never Found A Girl

I'm going to dedicate this post to Everette and Tyrone.

Eddie Floyd was born June 25, 1937 in Montgomery, Alabama. He was raised in Detroit and was one of the founders of The Falcons, later the launching pad for Wilson Pickett. The Falcons disbanded when the wicked one left and Eddie went to Washington D.C. to work with his pal Al Bell in founding a production company called Safice.

When Bell came to Memphis and Stax, Floyd was one of the valuable assets he brought with him. Stax got a multi-tool talent; a writer, producer and performer. Eddie wrote hits like '634-5789' and 'Ninety Nine and A Half Won't Do' for Pickett and became the frequent writing partner of Steve Cropper and Booker T. Jones. Between 1965 and 1975 virtually every artist at Stax had a hit with Eddie Floyd written and/or produced material, he would be an important figure in the Stax history even if he had never recorded anything himself.....but....he did.

Eddie's voice is that perfectly comfortable shirt or pair of shoes, not as flashy as some, but just 'right'. Having been such an integral element in the Stax sound, it isn't surprising that he wears it well as a performer. 1966's 'Knock On Wood' was intended for Otis Redding but Jerry Wexler convinced Jim Stewart that Floyd's demo deserved to be released on it's own; in very short order Stax had a new star.

As good as the 'Knock On Wood' album is, 'I've Never Found A Girl' is at least it's equal (actually I prefer it).