Soul fans have known Eddie Floyd for six decades. In the late 1950s, he co-founded The Falcons ("You're So

Fine", "I Found a Love"), a Detroit vocal group that

included Wilson Pickett, and paved the way for The

Temptations and The Four Tops.

In the early sixties, Floyd was a songwriter with Stax

Records, penning hits for Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave,

Wilson Pickett, and Rufus Thomas. With Steve

Cropper, he wrote “Knock On Wood” for Otis Redding.

But Stax liked Eddie’s demo so much, they released

his version instead. “Knock On Wood” was one of the

biggest hits of 1966 and has been a Soul staple ever

since.

With the exception of the opening track (a live version

of “Raise Your Hand”), POWER was recorded in

Jackson, Mississippi (1979) after the demise of Stax.

But Eddie was surrounded by Stax vets Carson

Whitsett (organ and keys), Michael Toles (guitar), Ray

Griffin (bass), James Robertson (drums), and the

Memphis Horns (Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson).

Backing vocals, besides Eddie himself, included

Valerie and Cheryl from Amber and Jewel Bass. “The

Beat Song” (b/w “London”) was released in Europe by

Arista in 1980. All other tracks are being released here

for the first time (Eddie did record an earlier version of

“I’ll Always Have Faith In You” for Stax).

This album captures Eddie in peak form vocally.

Definite standouts include the title song “Power”,

“Missing You”, and “Raise Your Hand”.