Knock on Wood (Eddie Floyd song)

"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.

"Knock on Wood"
One of side-A labels of the 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"
Released	July 25, 1966[1]
Recorded	July 13, 1966[2]
Studio	Stax, Memphis[2]
Genre	Southern R&B[3] soul[3] funk[4]
Length	3:06[5]
Label	Stax
Songwriter(s)	Eddie Floyd Steve Cropper
Producer(s)	Jim Stewart
Eddie Floyd singles chronology
"Things Get Better" (1966) "Knock on Wood" (1966) "Raise Your Hand" (1967)

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"
Released	September 1967
Genre	Soul
Length	2:48
Label	Stax 601021
Songwriter(s)	Eddie Floyd Steve Cropper

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

"Knock on Wood"
Side A of 1974 UK vinyl single of the David Bowie recording
Single by David Bowie
from the album David Live
B-side	"Panic in Detroit"
Released	13 September 1974[21]
Genre	Blues rock
Length	3:08
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Eddie Floyd Steve Cropper
David Bowie singles chronology
"1984" (1974) "Knock on Wood" (1974) "Rock 'n' Roll with Me" (1974)

David Bowie's live performance of the song was released as a single in several countries in 1974.^[22] The single, taken from Bowie's live album David Live, reached the top ten in the UK. The B-side, "Panic in Detroit", was not included on that album, but was from the same concert. It was added to the 2005 release of the album.

1. "Knock on Wood" (Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper) – 3:03
2. "Panic in Detroit" (Bowie) – 5:52

Chart performance for "Knock on Wood" by David Bowie

Chart (1974–2014)	Peak position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[23]	19
France (SNEP)[24]	143
Ireland (IRMA)[25]	4
Norway (VG-lista)[26]	10
UK Singles (OCC)[27]	10

Amii Stewart version

"Knock on Wood"
Side A of the 1979 Australian single
Single by Amii Stewart
from the album Knock on Wood
B-side	"When You Are Beautiful"
Released	November 10, 1978 (UK) / January 15, 1979 (US)
Recorded	1978
Genre	Disco[28] synth-rock[3]
Length	6:11 (album version) 3:53 (single version)
Label	Atlantic, Hansa (UK)[29] Ariola (US)
Songwriter(s)	Eddie Floyd Steve Cropper
Producer(s)	Barry Leng
Amii Stewart singles chronology
"You Really Touched My Heart" (1977) "Knock on Wood" (1978) "Light My Fire" (1979)
Music video
"Knock on Wood" on YouTube

American disco and soul singer Amii Stewart released a disco version of "Knock on Wood" in 1978. It reached number one on the US charts in April 1979; it also made it to the soul singles and disco charts, becoming the best-known version of the song.^[28] This recording was co-produced by Simon May. It reached the top 10 twice in the UK, first in 1979 (peaking at number 6) and again in a remixed version in 1985 (peaking at number 7).

The song earned a gold certification on March 22, 1979, and then a platinum certification on August 1 the same year from the RIAA^[11] when the single sold one^[11] or two million units.^[30] It would become one of the "anthems for the gay community".^[31] Stewart's rendition of the song earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980. It was featured prominently in the video game The Warriors, as well as the trailers for the Walt Disney Pictures 1997 live-action film Mr. Magoo, starring Leslie Nielsen, and the 1998 film The Big Lebowski.^{[citation needed]}

Charts

Weekly charts 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 100 1 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

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[60]	Platinum	150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[61]	Silver	250,000^
United States (RIAA)[62]	Platinum	2,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other cover versions

The American Breed also covered it on their 1967 self-titled debut album.^[63]

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas released it as a single in 1967 on Stax Records, credited to Otis & Carla. It also appeared on their album King & Queen.

James Cotton also recorded the song on his 1967 album The James Cotton Blues Band; his version is later included in the 1995 compilation album The Best of the Verve Years.^[64]

Buddy Guy recorded the song on his live 1968 album This Is Buddy Guy!^[65]

The Mauds recorded the song on their 1968 album Hold On.^[63][66]

Razzy Bailey's version (1984) peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on the week of September 29, 1984, the version's ninth week.^[67][68]

Eric Clapton covered the song for his 1985 album Behind the Sun.^[69]

Michael Bolton covered it for his 1992 album Timeless: The Classics.^[70]

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.^[71]

Actress Emma Stone performed the song in the 2010 film Easy A.^[72][73]