"Groove Me" is a song written and recorded by R&B singer

King Floyd King Floyd (February 13, 1945 – March 6, 2006) was a New Orleans soul singer, best known for his top 10 hit from 1970, " Groove Me". Early career King Floyd III was born in New Orleans in 1945. His musical career started as a singer at the Sh ...

. Released from his

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

album in late 1970, it was a crossover hit, spending four non-consecutive weeks at number-one on Billboard Soul chart and peaking at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

the song reached No. 11. The song was recorded and produced by

Wardell Quezergue Wardell Joseph Quezergue ( ; March 12, 1930 – September 6, 2011) was an American composer, arranger, record producer and bandleader, known among New Orleans musicians as the "Creole Beethoven". Steeped in jazz, he was an influential musician who ...

Malaco Records Malaco Records is an American independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Latimore, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

recording studios during the same session as another Quezergue-produced song,

Jean Knight Jean Audrey Knight (née Caliste; January 26, 1943 – November 22, 2023) was an American R&B and soul singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Launching her professional career in the mid-1960s, Knight was best known for her 1971 hit single " Mr. ...

's " Mr. Big Stuff". "Groove Me" was originally released as the B-side to Floyd's "What Our Love Needs" on the Malaco subsidiary Chimneyville. When

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

disc jockey George Vinnett started playing the B-side, the song began meriting attention, and as the record emerged as a local smash,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

scooped up national distribution rights.

Personnel

No credits are listed for the Malaco studio musicians on the record. According to Rob Bowman's liner notes from the 1999 box set, ''The Last Soul Company: Malaco, A Thirty Year Retrospective'', the musicians for this session included: *Jimmy Honeycutt – saxophone *Bob Cheesman – trumpet *

– organ *Jerry Puckett – guitar *Vernie Robbins – bass *

James Stroud James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, R&B, soul, disco, and country music. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for Malaco Records. In the 1990s, he was the president of Giant ...

– drums However, during this time at Malaco, horn lines were typically played by saxophonist Hugh Garraway and trumpeter Peary Lomax. Lomax said he played all trumpet parts on this record and on "Mr. Big Stuff."

Origin

According to Rob Bowman, Canadian professor of ethnomusicology, "Groove Me" had been inspired by a young college student who had worked about twenty feet away from Floyd at an east L.A. box factory. In Floyd's words: "She'd just watch me and smile at me all day. When I went to the water fountain, she would make it her purpose to come up to the water fountain. But, I was so shy. So, I decided one day that I was gonna write this poem and give it to her and I wrote 'Groove Me.' Believe it or not, after I finished it she never came back to work. It blew me away. So, I never gave her the poem. Man, I'd sure like to meet her one day just to thank her!"

Cover versions

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

covered the song in their hit 1978 album ''

Briefcase Full of Blues ''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by the Blues Brothers, released on November 28, 1978, by Atlantic Records. It was recorded live on September 9, 1978, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when the band opened for comedian ...

'', giving the song a Jamaican reggae feel. *In 1979,

Fern Kinney Fern Kinney (born Fern Kinney-Lewis, July 11, 1949) is an American R&B and disco singer, who is best remembered for her releases, " Groove Me" and "Together We Are Beautiful". Career Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Kinney origina ...

, who sang backing vocals on King Floyd's original version, released a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

version of the song on her album ''Groove Me'', which reached No. 6 on the Billboard dance chart. In

the song reached No. 20. *In 2002,

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

covered the song in the soundtrack for the movie

Austin Powers in Goldmember ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third and final installment in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and stars Mike Myers in four different roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldme ...

References

{{authority control 1970 songs 1970 singles American funk songs Atlantic Records singles