"Killing Floor" is a 1964 song by American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

. Called "one of the defining classics of Chicago electric blues", "Killing Floor" became a

blues standard Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues ...

with recordings by various artists. It has been acknowledged by the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

Hall of Fame, which noted its popularity among rock as well as blues musicians. English rock group

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

adapted the song for their "The Lemon Song", for which Howlin' Wolf is named as a co-author.

Original song

Howlin' Wolf recorded "Killing Floor" in Chicago in August 1964, which Chess Records released as a single. According to blues guitarist and longtime Wolf associate

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

, the song uses the killing floorthe area of a slaughterhouse where animals are killedas a metaphor or allegory for male-female relationships: "Down on the killing floorthat 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 deadyou 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 Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 – August 14, 1990) was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chic ...

(piano),

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

(acoustic guitar), Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon (bass),

Sam Lay Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into ...

(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''.

Jimi Hendrix rendition

Jimi Hendrix performed "Killing Floor" early in his career, including early vocal performances with

Curtis Knight and the Squires Curtis Knight and the Squires were a New York band that was fronted by singer and guitarist Curtis Knight in the mid-1960s. Both Jimi Hendrix and sax player Lonnie Youngblood were members for a while. Background The band is referred to as a work ...

in 1965 and 1966. Shortly after arriving in England in September 1966, Hendrix performed the song when he sat in with

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. "Killing Floor" was included in the set list of the newly formed

Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. 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 James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

'' box set), March 1967 in the BBC studios ('' BBC Sessions''), and June 1967 at the

Monterey International Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

(''

Jimi Plays Monterey ''Jimi Plays Monterey'' is a posthumous live album by Jimi Hendrix released in February 1986. It documents the Jimi Hendrix Experience's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 18, 1967. In 2007, it was superseded by '' Live at Monterey ...

'').

Led Zeppelin version

performed "Killing Floor" live in 1968 and 1969, and it became the basis for "The Lemon Song", which they recorded on their 1969 album ''

Led Zeppelin II ''Led Zeppelin II'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place ...

''. It was recorded in Los Angeles when the band were on their second concert tour of North America. In some early performances Robert Plant introduced the song as "Killing Floor"; an early UK pressing of ''

'' showed the title as "Killing Floor" and was credited to Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf's real name). For the second and third North American tours the song evolved into "The Lemon Song", with Plant often improvising lyrics onstage (the opening lyrics to both songs are identical). Other lyrics, notably "squeeze (my lemon) till the juice runs down my leg," can be traced to

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

's "

Travelling Riverside Blues "Travelling Riverside Blues" is a blues song written by the bluesman Robert Johnson. He recorded it on June 20, 1937, in Dallas, Texas, during his last recording session. The song was unreleased until its inclusion on the 1961 Johnson compilatio ...

". It is likely that Johnson borrowed this himself, from a song recorded earlier in the same year (1937) called "She Squeezed My Lemon" (by Arthur McKay).Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Triple J Music Specials - Led Zeppelin (first broadcast 2000-07-12) The song also references

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

's "

Cross-Cut Saw A crosscut saw (thwart saw) is any saw designed for cutting wood perpendicular to (across) the wood grain. Crosscut saws may be small or large, with small teeth close together for fine work like woodworking or large for coarse work like log ...

" In December 1972, Arc Music, owner of the publishing rights to Howlin' Wolf's songs, sued Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement on "The Lemon Song". The parties settled out of court. Though the amount was not disclosed, Howlin' Wolf received a check for US$45,123 from Arc Music immediately following the suit, and subsequent releases included a co-songwriter credit for him. "The Lemon Song" was performed live on Led Zeppelin's first three

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

s of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(on the first tour as "Killing Floor"), before being dropped from their live set in late 1969. However, the 'squeeze my lemon' sequence continued to be inserted into the "

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was ...

" medley and ad-libbed elsewhere. Jimmy Page performed this song on his tour with

the Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...

in 1999. A version of "The Lemon Song" performed by Page and the Black Crowes can be found on the album ''

Live at the Greek ''Live at the Greek: Excess All Areas'' is a double live album by Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes, released by musicmaker.com on 29 February 2000 and reissued by TVT Records on 4 July 2000. In October 1999, Page teamed up with the Crowes for ...

''.

Recognition and legacy

"Killing Floor" is recognized as a

, with

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...

' 1931 recording "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" as the likely inspiration. In 1991, the song was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category. 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."

References

{{authority control 1964 songs Howlin' Wolf songs Blues songs 1964 singles Chess Records singles The Jimi Hendrix Experience songs 1969 songs Led Zeppelin songs Songs written by Jimmy Page Songs written by John Paul Jones (musician) Songs written by John Bonham Songs written by Robert Plant Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page Songs involved in plagiarism controversies