Eddie Floyd

Eddie Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including a No. 1 R&B hit song, "Knock on Wood".

Floyd was born in Montgomery, Alabama, to Florence Floyd, a nurse, and Prince Edward, a steelworker. He had four siblings: Joe, Benny, Dave, and Louise.

In 1950, at age thirteen, Floyd was sent to Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children at Mount Meigs, a juvenile correctional facility, after fighting with the principal. He began his formal music studies there, learning theory and singing in a choir.

After three years at Mount Meigs, Floyd moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he lived with his aunt and uncle, Robert and Catherine West. Robert West was an impresario of the Detroit music scene and the founder of Lu Pine Records.

At age sixteen, Floyd 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.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.