Floyd Newman

Floyd Newman (born August 17, 1931) is a saxophonist, session musician and bandleader. As a baritone sax player, he was long associated with Stax Records, and as a member of The Mar-Keys’ horn section and the Memphis Horns.

Born in Memphis, in the late 1940s he became a member of the B.B. King Review, with, among others, George Coleman and George Joyner. Newman later moved to Detroit and recorded with Jackie Brenston,[1] and toured with Sam Cooke before returning to Memphis. Newman also led a band featuring Howard Grimes on drums, Joe Woods on guitar and Isaac Hayes on keyboards, and which performed at the Plantation Inn. This line-up also recorded a 45, “Frog Stomp”, co-written by Newman and Hayes. Newman and Hayes had previously coincided in Ben Branch’s house band at the Tropicana Club, with Hayes as a vocalist.[2]

As a member of the House horn section at Stax, in 1965 he would go on to become a founding member of the Memphis Horns, with Wayne Jackson and Gene "Bowlegs" Miller on trumpets, Floyd Newman on baritone sax and Andrew Love on tenor.