Cover Me: Knock on Wood

Bruce loves Stax Records, and it’s hard to get more Stax than Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood.”

Killer horn riff? Check.

Irresistible get-your-ass-outta-your-chair beat? Check.

The tightest backing band in the land, Booker T. and the MGs? Check.

And the secret ingredient that elevates “Knock on Wood” to the top of the Stax: Al Jackson’s improvised knock-knock-knock-knock in the chorus.

“Knock on Wood” was a hit for Floyd in 1966, peaking at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Soul Singles chart. (Amii Stewart’s disco version was a monster hit a dozen years later, but it hasn’t aged well.)

It remains Floyd’s biggest hit to this day, and a decade after he rode the charts with it, he performed it with the E Street Band.

It was the evening of April 29, 1976 (the same night Bruce and Steve broke into Graceland), and Bruce and the band were playing the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. During the encore, Bruce invited “the man that wrote the book” to the stage and took a supporting role while Floyd fronted the E Street Band for “Knock on Wood” (with a wink and a nod to “Yum Yum Yum (I Want Some).”

It was a terrific performance, but as great as the E Street Band is, you really can’t do justice to “Knock on Wood” without a horn section.

Flash forward 36 years: At Bruce’s legendary second show at Fenway Park on the Wrecking Ball Tour, Bruce saw a sign for “Knock on Wood” and leapt at it. By this point in the tour, the super-sized E Street Band–complete with horn section and backing vocalists–was firing on all cylinders, and when Bruce threw this particular curve ball, they nailed it.

Okay, it’s a little loose in spots, but for an unplanned performance, it’s fantastic, and Bruce clearly had a great time throughout.

Other than a few off-tour performances, these were the only two times Bruce has performed “Knock on Wood” in concert. But they hopefully won’t be the last, because this is a perfect song for Bruce and the band.

Knock on Wood
First performed: April 29, 1976 (Memphis, TN)
Last performed: August 15, 2012 (Boston, MA)