You Gotta Have Eddie!

Eddie Floyd - I Got Everything I Need

If Eddie Floyd's only contribution to the world of music was the soul anthem "Knock on Wood" (unfortunately, in the erroneous view of the mainstream that was his only contribution), that would be plenty, but his songwriting and outstanding recordings provide ample foundation for his status as a soul legend. Although Floyd was not as big a "name" as his Stax contemporaries Otis Redding or Johnnie Taylor, Floyd's warm vocals were as comfortable as one's favorite pair of pajamas, making songs like the Northern Soul classic "Big Bird," country soul like "The Best Years of My Life" and eccentricities like the bluesy "Oh How It Rained" and the reggae tune "Baby Lay Your Head Down (Gently on My Bed)" really work. Although Eddie's hits dried up in the mid-'70s, like most Southern soulsters' did, Floyd has always kept busy touring and performing, and he is presently in the midst of the first of two European tours scheduled for the first half of this year and has a new album forthcoming.

Today's selection was an unissued Stax cut tht appeared on the comp 3000 Volts of Stax. The ballad "I Got Everything I Need" is Eddie's reworking of the gospel song of the same name, and he gives the song a great reading while the Stax gang bring their usual "A-game" in support.