KING FLOYD
King Floyd, the soulful voice of New Orleans R&B, began his musical journey performing at the famed Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street. After serving in the army, he headed west to California, where he teamed up with renowned producer Harold Battiste. His debut album, A Man In Love, failed to make waves commercially, prompting Floyd to return to New Orleans in 1969. Everything changed in 1970 when producer and arranger Wardell Quezergue convinced Floyd to record Groove Me, a song Floyd had penned himself. The track was laid down at Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi, during the same session that produced Jean Knight’s Mr. Big Stuff. Initially released as the B-side to What Our Love Needs on Malaco’s subsidiary Chimneyville, Groove Me quickly gained traction locally. Its infectious groove caught fire, and Atlantic Records stepped in to handle national distribution. By the end of 1970, the song had become a crossover hit, spending four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Soul chart and climbing to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.