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King Floyd’s ‘Groove Me’ stands the test of time [1]
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Date: 2025-06-27
Malaco Records, founded in 1962 in Jackson, Miss., needed a hit. Previous recordings had not gained any traction, and money was scarce.
“That was until New Orleans-based producer Wardell Quezergue brought soul singer King Floyd into the studio on May 17, 1970,” the record label states. “This day changed everything for Malaco Records.”
Floyd’s singing career also had gotten off to a slow start. Born in New Orleans as Eddie Lee Floyd on Feb. 13, 1945, he began in 1961 at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street. Then he served in the Army before moving to California and joining forces with record producer Harold Battiste.
“A Man in Love,” Floyd’s first album with Pulsar Records, did not receive much attention, so he moved back to New Orleans in 1969. He was working at the post office in 1970 when he ran into Quezergue and mentioned a song he had written.
“Quezergue quickly saw the song’s potential as a funky gem and dove into the arrangements,” Malaco states. Quezergue brought Floyd to Jackson “to lay down vocals on the waiting backing tracks” for what would become his smash hit “Groove Me.” He recorded the song in one take.
“Groove Me” reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts and No. 6 on the pop charts. Floyd and Malaco had several more hits, including “Baby Let Me Kiss You,” over five years. However, none hit the sweet spot like “Groove Me.”
“What most know about Floyd begins and ends with his massive and enduring 1971 R&B hit ‘Groove Me,’” NPR states. “The song opens with a loud grunt – and then, just as the rhythm kicks in, Floyd hollers, ‘Aw, sookie sookie now,’ a naked nod to his Southern roots.”
Floyd died in 2006 from complications of a stroke and diabetes.
For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.
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