Jerry Knight

Jerry Knight
Birth name	Jerry Ernest Knight
Born	(1952-04-17)April 17, 1952 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	December 29, 1996(1996-12-29) (aged 44) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, producer
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar, vocals
Years active	1978–1996
Labels	Arista, A&M

Jerry Ernest Knight (April 17, 1952 – December 29, 1996)^[1] was an American R&B vocalist and bassist^[2] who reached prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which he was part of several groups and had a brief solo career.^[1]

Career

A Los Angeles native,^[2] he first gained recognition as a founding member, along with Ray Parker Jr., of the R&B group Raydio, singing vocals on their early hit "Jack and Jill."^[1] Prior to this, he was a session player for many artists, notably providing bass on Bill Withers “Lovely Day.”

Knight left Raydio after before their second album was released to pursue a solo career, going on to release three solo albums and achieving moderate success with minor hits such as "Overnight Sensation," "Perfect Fit" and "Turn It Out".^[1]

In 1983, Knight teamed with session drummer Ollie E. Brown to form Ollie & Jerry. They provided the title track to the soundtrack for the 1984 movie Breakin', which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[3] They also recorded the title track for Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, which got to #45 on the Billboard R&B chart.^[3]

Shortly after Ollie & Jerry parted ways in 1985, Knight began working with the Jets, co-writing their early hits "Crush On You," "Curiosity," and "Private Number".^[4] Although his career as an artist faded, Knight continued to write and produce for other acts such as the Whispers, Patrice Rushen, DeBarge, Howard Hewett and Elkie Brooks.

Personal life and death

According to an interview with his Raydio bandmate Ray Parker, Jr., Raydio's song "Jack and Jill" was actually written about Knight and his wife, whose real name was Jill (Maxine) Knight. Parker added that Knight and Jill had two children together (Dereck and Lindsay).^[5]

Knight died of cancer in Los Angeles on December 29, 1996, at age 44.^[1] He is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Solo discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions		Label
		US Pop [6]	US R&B [6]
1980	Jerry Knight	165	51	A&M Records
1981	Perfect Fit	146	30
1982	Love's on Your Side	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions
		US Pop [7]	US R&B [7]	US Dance [7]
1980	"Overnight Sensation"	103	17	18
	"Joy Ride"	—	87	—
1981	"Perfect Fit"	—	16	37
	"Turn It Out"	—	65	—
1982	"She's Got to Be (A Dancer)"	—	71	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Songwriting credits

Year	Artist	Song Title	Album
1977	Rare Earth	"Is Your Teacher Cool?"	Rarearth
1978	Elkie Brooks	"Since You Went Away"	Shooting Star
1979	Charles Jackson	"Gonna Get Your Love"	I'm Gonna Get Your Love
1980	Dee Edwards	"Don't Walk Away"	Two Hearts Are Better Than One
1983	The Whispers	"Tonight"	Love for Love
	Philip Bailey	"Desire"	Continuation
1984	Ollie & Jerry	"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us"	Breakin' Soundtrack
	George Duke	"Secret Rendezvous"	Secret Rendezvous
	Ollie & Jerry	"They're So Incredible"	Revenge of the Nerds Soundtrack
	Philip Bailey	"Photogenic Memory"	Chinese Wall
	The Chi Lites	"Running Around"	Steppin' Out
1985	Howard Johnson	"Stand Up"	The Vision
	Jeff Lorber	"It Takes a Woman"	Step by Step
	Willie Hutch	"Sexy Feelin"	Making a Game Out of Love
	The Jets	"Curiosity"	The Jets
		"Crush on You"
		"Private Number"
		"Love Umbrella"
		"Heart on the Line"
		"Right Before My Eyes"
1986	Bunny Debarge	"Save the Best for Me"	In Love
		"Life Savier"
	O'Bryan	"Tenderoni"	Surrender
		"You Have Got to Come to Me"
		"What Goes Around"
1987	Dionne Warwick	"Cry on Me"	Reservations for Two
	Natalie Cole	"Everlasting"	Everlasting
	Brenda K. Starr	"Drive Another Girl Home"	Brenda K. Starr
1988	Howard Hewett	"Challenge"	Forever and Ever
	Five Star	"Physical Attraction"	Rock the World
1992	Nona Gaye	"Give Me Something Good"	Love for the Future

References

1. Wynn, Ron. "Artist Biography". AllMusic.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Albums: Includes Every Album that Made the Billboard 200 Chart: 50 Year History of the Rock Era (6th ed.). Record Research Incorporated. p. 596. ISBN 9780898201666.
3. Hogan, Ed. "Ollie & Jerry - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
4. "Songs written by Jerry Knight". Music VF. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
5. Parker, Ron. "Ray Parker Jr in Studio <<WCBS-FM 101.1 (Ray Parker, Jr. interview with Rockin' Ron Parker). WCBSFM 101.1: New York's Greatest Hits". Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
6. "Jerry Knight - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
7. "Jerry Knight Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved September 27, 2021.

External links

• Jerry Knight discography at Discogs