Groove Me – King Floyd | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6) & R&B (#1 for 4 weeks); 1971
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
King Floyd began singing on the streets of New Orleans, hanging out at the One Stop Record Shop on Rampart Street with Earl King and Willie Tee. The teenager stepped up to the mic publicly for the first time at a Bourbon Street club.
The year was 1961 and King thought he was on his way. The Army, however, had other ideas. After his discharge, Floyd headed for Manhattan, where he performed and wrote songs, then struck out for the West Coast, where he released his first single.
Nothing much came of it and Floyd found himself back in New Orleans; a family man with a job at the post office. It wasn’t long before Floyd was on a bus bound for Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi. There he knocked out his vocal for Groove Me on Sunday, May 17, 1970.
Unable to interest a label in Floyd’s tune, Malaco put it out on Chimneyville, as Jackson was called after the Union army burnt it to the ground. Groove Me did its own burning: straight to #1.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Wardell Quezergue
Lyrics Written by:
- King Floyd
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).