Killing Floor (Howlin' Wolf song)

Howlin' Wolf recorded "Killing Floor" in 1964, which Chess Records released as a single. According to blues guitarist and longtime Wolf associate Hubert Sumlin, the song uses the killing floor – the area of a slaughterhouse where animals are killed – as a metaphor or allegory for 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."[2]

"Killing Floor" is an upbeat twelve-bar blues with an "instantly familiar" guitar riff provided by Sumlin.[1] Backing Howlin' Wolf (vocals) and Sumlin (electric guitar) are Lafayette Leake (piano), Buddy Guy (acoustic guitar), Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon (bass), Sam Lay (drums), Arnold Rogers (tenor sax), and Donald Hankins (baritone sax).[3] The song appears on several Howlin' Wolf compilation albums, including his 1966 album The Real Folk Blues.

Jimi Hendrix performed "Killing Floor" early in his career, including early vocal performances with Curtis Knight and the Squires in 1965 and 1966.[4] Shortly after arriving in England in September 1966, Hendrix performed the song when he sat in with Cream. "Killing Floor" was included in the set list of the newly formed Jimi Hendrix Experience. The song was often a set opener, and Hendrix played the song at a faster tempo, with a different rhythm guitar and bass line. Early recordings include live versions from October 1966 in Paris (The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set), March 1967 in the BBC studios (BBC Sessions), and June 1967 at the Monterey International Pop Festival (Jimi Plays Monterey).

Led Zeppelin performed "Killing Floor" live in 1968 and 1969,[5] and it became the basis for "The Lemon Song". In some early performances Robert Plant introduced the song as "Killing Floor"; an early UK pressing of Led Zeppelin II showed the title as "Killing Floor" and was credited to Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf's legal name). Led Zeppelin's version was performed at a much slower tempo (until the bridge) and with some different lyrics. After legal action by Howlin' Wolf's publisher, his name was added to the credits for "The Lemon Song".

"Killing Floor" is recognized as a blues standard, with Skip James' 1931 recording "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" as the likely inspiration.[6] In 1991, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.[3] The panel identified it as "one of Wolf’s most recognizable songs. It has long been a staple among many blues bands and ranks as one of Wolf’s most often-covered songs, by both blues and rock acts."[3]