"
Killing Floor" is a song by American
blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
Howlin' Wolf.
Skip James' "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" is a different song. "Killing Floor" has been recorded by a variety of 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. The song's title refers to the active area of
slaughterhouse; Wolf uses it as a metaphor for his relationship predicament. "Killing Floor" is an upbeat twelve-bar blues with an "instantly familiar" guitar riff provided by longtime Wolf associate
Hubert 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.
Jimi Hendrix version
Jimi Hendrix performed "Killing Floor" early in his career, including early vocal performances...
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