One fateful day in mid-1965 a chance meeting between two musicians in the lobby of New York's Hotel America would lead to a short association that would overshadow the careers of both men. The younger musician was penniless and had pawned his guitar. He did, however, possess an awesome talent which was yet to be unleashed on an unsuspecting world. The elder, while not destined for greatness was, nevertheless, a more than competent musician who, with his band, was finding regular work in the clubs of Greenwich Village and beyond.   
   
   That short association not only affected both men but everyone reading this short article and everyone who has ever considered themselves a fan of Jimi Hendrix. The career of Jimi Hendrix blazed to a premature end in 1970, the career of Curtis Knight followed a steady, more traditional path embracing various strands of soul, blues and r'n'b. I am sad to report that Curtis' career finally came to a close on 29 November 1999, news of his death from cancer reaching us just as the last issue of Jimpress was being mailed.   
   

 

       Curtis Knight was born Curtis McNear on 9 May 1929 in Fort Scott, Kansas. When he bumped into young Jimmy, Curtis was already 36 with a wealth of experience of bands and the club scene behind him. He had a recording contract (of which more later) and, crucially, access to a recording studio. Indeed, it was the studio in the basement that had brought him to the Hotel America in the first place. We will never know what magical chemistry, other than a mystical, muse, caused the two men to strike up a rapport such that Curtis would provide a guitar for Jimmy to join in some music making. It is not difficult though, to understand why, once he had heard him play, Curtis invited Jimmy to join the band. For his part, Jimmy was in no position to turn down regular work.   
   
   
    In different circumstances Jimmy might have turned down the offer. He'd had his fill of playing in other people's bands, wearing the suits, doing the dances and generally being pushed around. As it turned out, for a brief period this was a marriage made in heaven. Curtis Knight had a band called either the Squires or the Lovelights depending on the whim that week. It was HIS band but he was big enough to recognise that this kid could play and deserved to be given a chance in the limelight. Although starring roles on the studio recordings were limited, in the main, to instrumentalisation Curtis encouraged Jimmy to take on vocal duties when the band played live and he was not afraid to give Jimmy the big build-up despite realising Jimmy would soon be bigger than the band (and then some!)   
    Jimmy signed up to a recording deal with Knight's producer, Ed Chalpin. Much has been written about he contract but the only thing that matters thirty five years on is that it led to a handful of studio and live sessions which have been endlessly butchered and recycled to trap the unwary purchaser. A practise that continues today. Sadly these have become notorious and synonymous with the name, Curtis Knight. To such an extent that, by association, Curtis is blamed for the merciless marketing.   
  
  

 

   Eventually and inevitably the two went their separate ways. While     Jimmy became Jimi and packed everything into four short years Curtis continued his musical journey. The seventies saw him performing under his own name, as Curtis Knight and Zeus (a band who can claim among its ranks Fast Eddie Clarke of Motörhead) and, when punk exploded onto the scene, there came the rather illconceived black punk outfit Pure Hell.   
   

 

© SteveRodham JimPress 2000