"Knock on Wood" is a 1966 hit song written by
Eddie Floyd and
Steve Cropper and originally performed by Floyd.[2] The song has become covered by later artists, most notably
Amii Stewart in 1979. Stewart's
disco version was the most successful on weekly music charts.
Eddie Floyd version
His recording peaked at number 28 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at number 1 on the Soul Singles chart.[3] The song 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'. Floyd's version earned a Gold certification from the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 17, 1995.[4]
David Bowie released a live performance of the song[15] as a single in the UK in 1974; the recording was taken from Bowie's live album David Live. The B-side, "Panic in Detroit", was not on that album but was from the same concert. It was added to the 2005 release of the album.
"Knock on Wood" (Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper) – 3:03
"Panic in Detroit" (Bowie) – 5:52
Chart performance for "Knock on Wood" by David Bowie
American
disco and
soul singer
Amii Stewart released a disco version of "Knock on Wood" in 1979. 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.[21] 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[4] when the single sold one[4] or two million units.[23] It would become one of the "
anthems for the
gay community".[24] 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.
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.[59]
In 1971, Filipino singer
Victor Wood released his version of this song.[60]
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.[65]
In 1993 Beatrice Magnanensi and Letizia Mezzanotte interpret the song in the compilation Non è la Rai 2.
In 1996
Fausto Leali recorded the Italian version entitled No, non tu (No, not you), for the album Non solo blues ("Not just Blues") (RTI Music, RTI 1112-4).
^Baughman, Judith S.; et al., eds. (2001).
"The Pulse of Black Music". American Decades. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Gale. Retrieved August 16, 2019 – via Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale document no. GALE|CX3468302576.
^Dahl, Bill (2001).
"The Best of the Verve Years (1995) review". In Vladimir Bogdanov; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (eds.). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (4th ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 516.
ISBN0-87930-627-0. Retrieved August 15, 2019 – via Google Books.