Killing floor

Killing floor may refer to:

Music

Literature

Other media

Killing Floor (band)

Killing Floor are a British blues rock band, who formed in 1968. They released two albums and four singles before initially disbanding in 1972. They have issued another two albums since their reformation in 2002. The band name came from the title of Howlin' Wolf's 1964 track, "Killing Floor".

Career

Originally performing in a blues band known as The Loop, Killing Floor founder members Mick Clarke (lead guitar) and Bill Thorndycraft (vocals/harmonica) formed the band in 1968 in London, England, after placing an advertisement in Melody Maker. From this, they recruited Lou Martin (piano), Stuart McDonald (bass guitar) and Bazz Smith (drums). After undertaking their maiden gig, former Wonderful Radio London DJ and blues fan, John Edward, offered to manage the fledgling outfit. Edward led them to signing a recording contract with Spark Records and, in 1969, their self-titled debut album was recorded in less than two weeks at the Pye Recording Studios. Edwards was listed as the record's producer, although he had no previous experience in that field. The majority of the tracks were re-workings of older Chicago blues material, although the only true cover version therein was of Willie Dixon's "You Need Love". AllMusic described the set as a " less reverent, and altogether heavier update of The Yardbirds rave-up sound". In the United States, the album was released on the Sire label.

Killing Floor (Howlin' Wolf song)

"Killing Floor" is a 1964 song by American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Howlin' Wolf. Called "one of the defining classics of Chicago electric blues", "Killing Floor" has been recorded by various artists and has been acknowledged by the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.

Original song

Howlin' Wolf recorded "Killing Floor" in 1964 and it was released as a single. According to blues guitarist and longtime Wolf associate Hubert Sumlin, the song refers to male-female relationships: "Down on the killing floor – that means a woman has you down, she went out of her way to try to kill you. She at the peak of doing it, and you got away now ... You know people have wished they was dead – you been treated so bad that sometimes you just say, 'Oh Lord have mercy.' You’d rather be six feet in the ground."

"Killing Floor" is an upbeat twelve-bar blues with an "instantly familiar" guitar riff provided by Sumlin. Backing Howlin' Wolf (vocals) and Sumlin (electric guitar) are Lafayette Leake (piano), Buddy Guy (acoustic guitar), Andrew McMahon (bass), Sam Lay (drums), Arnold Rogers (tenor sax), and Donald Hankins (baritone sax). The song appears on several Howlin' Wolf compilation albums, including his 1966 album The Real Folk Blues. In 1991, "Killing Floor" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.