Sonny Knight
Sonny Knight | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Joseph Coleman Smith |
| Also known as | Joe Smith Joseph C. Smith |
| Born | May 17, 1934 Maywood, Illinois,U.S. |
| Died | September 5, 1998(aged 64) Maui,Hawaii, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop,rhythm and blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, pianist, author |
| Years active | 1954–1997 |
| Labels | Aladdin,Specialty,Vita,Dot,Aura,Original Sound,Fifo,World Pacific |
Joseph Coleman Smith(May 17, 1934 – September 5, 1998), who performed and recorded under the nameSonny Knight,was an American singer, songwriter and author. His biggest hit was "Confidential", which reached the pop andR&Bcharts in 1956, and he continued to record into the 1960s. In 1981, using his real name, he wroteThe Day the Music Died,a fictionalised account of racism in the Americanmusic businessin the 1950s.
Biography
[edit]He was born inMaywood, Illinois,and moved to Los Angeles with his family in the early 1950s. He enrolled atLos Angeles State Collegeintending to pursue an academic career, but became interested in the music business and, according to one source, visited the Mesner brothers atAladdin Recordsto sell them a song, "Vicious, Vicious Vodka", that he had written for his idol,Amos Milburn;[1]Milburn recorded the song in 1954.[2]Another source suggests that Smith actively sought a recording contract himself, at the behest of a girlfriend.[3]In any event, Aladdin offered him a recording contract, and, using the pseudonym Sonny Knight that he invented himself, released two singles on the label, including "But, Officer," later recorded bySteve Allen.The records were unsuccessful, and he recorded asJoe Smithfor the Cal-West label before signing forSpecialty Records.[1]
After a couple more unsuccessful singles, recorded again as Sonny Knight, producerRobert "Bumps" Blackwellpartnered him with songwriterDorinda Morgan.She wrote the ballad "Confidential", which he recorded for the small Vita record label inPasadena.Although the record label states that it was recorded with the Jack Collier Orchestra, in fact it was made with theErnie FreemanCombo, which also included guitaristIrving Ashbyand saxophonistPlas Johnson.[1]Originally theB-sideof "Jail Bird", the record was flipped by radio DJs.[4]After initial local success, the record was licensed to the largerDotlabel, and rose to no. 17 on theBillboardpop chart,and no. 8 on theR&B chartat the end of 1956.[5]
Knight was unable to follow it up successfully, although he continued to record for Dot. He also worked as asession pianistin Los Angeles, on records bySandy Nelsonand others, and recorded for small labels includingOriginal Sound,Fifo, andWorld Pacific.[1][6][7]In the early 1960s he recorded for theAuralabel, and in 1964 his song "If You Want This Love" reached no.71 on the pop chart; its follow-up "Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow" reached no.100.[8]He gave up his recording career in the mid 1960s,[3]moving in the 1970s to live in Hawaii, where he continued to sing innightclubs.[2]
In 1981, credited as Joseph C. Smith, his novelThe Day the Music Diedwas published byGrove Press.[1][9]It was based on his own experiences in the music business in the 1950s, and received generally good reviews, remaining in print for over 25 years.[1]Rock criticGreil Marcus,in his bookDead Elvis,wrote that:[4]
"[it is] the bitterest book ever written about how rock'n'roll came to be and what it turned into; its theme is racism....[W]hat really interests Smith is how a rich version of American black culture is transformed into a horrible, enormously profitable white parody of itself: as white labels sign black artists only to ensure their oblivion and keep those blacks they can't control penned up in the ghetto of the black charts; as white America, faced with something good, responds with a poison that will ultimately ruin even honest men... There is no question that much of what Smith describes took place.... But.. driven by its bitterness, Smith's story runs away from itself..."
Knight died in Hawaii in 1998 at the age of 64, following a stroke two years earlier.[2]
A compilation CD of Sonny Knight's recordings,Confidential,was issued by Pacific Records in about 2001.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abcdefgBiography by Dik de Heer at Black Cat Rockabilly.Retrieved April 20, 2013
- ^abcNick Talevski,Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door,Omnibus Press, 2010, p.344
- ^abBiography by Rovi at Allmusic.com.Retrieved April 20, 2013
- ^abGreil Marcus,Dead Elvis: a chronicle of a cultural obsession,Harvard University Press, 1999, pp.100–103
- ^Whitburn, Joel(1996).Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995.Record Research. p. 253.
- ^Sonny Knight at 45cat.com.Retrieved April 20, 2013
- ^Sonny Knight at Discogs.com.Retrieved April 20, 2013
- ^Whitburn, Joel (2003).Top Pop Singles 1955–2002(1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.390.ISBN0-89820-155-1.
- ^Google Books,The Day the Music Died
External links
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