King Floyd King Floyd

New Orleans singer-songwriter King Floyd may not have reached the heights of commercial success that his contemporary soul-R&B performers had, but the mark he left with his music is indelible, if only for the prevalence and success of his 1970 single "Groove Me." Originally written as a love poem for a co-worker, Floyd instead brought the lyrics to famed producer/arranger Wardell Quezergue, who was fresh from producing another iconic piece of New Orleans soul: Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff." "Groove Me" was originally included as a B-side to another Floyd track, "What Our Love Needs". While the A-side failed to generate major commerical buzz, "Groove Me" became a local radio smash thanks to the efforts of New Orleans DJs, and attraced enough attention to be picked up for national distribution, where the track became a hit on the Billboard rankings, peaking at number 6 on the pop charts. Though King Floyd would never have nearly as big a hit in his career, the staying power of "Groove Me" has long outlasted the singer/songwriter. It has been covered by artists as varied as Etta James, Fern Kinney, John Cowan, and the Blues Brothers, while finding sample usage in tracks by Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Cam'Ron, Salt-N-Peppa, and even experimental noise weirdos Negativland.