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.
| Curtis Knight and the Squires | |
|---|---|
| Labels | Dagger Records, Experience Hendrix, Legacy, PPX, RSVP, Sony Music |
| Past members | Hank Anderson Marion Booker Jr.<br Nate Edmonds Ace Hall Henry Henderson Jimi Hendrix Curtis McNear Ray Lucas Lonnie Youngblood Ditto Edwards |
Background
editThe band is referred to as a workaday party R&B band by Billboard.[1] The line up of the group wasn't always with the same musicians. Sax player Lonnie Youngblood had been a member.[2] The line up pictured on the cover of the You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions album features Curtis Knight, Jimi Hendrix, Marion Booker and Ace Hall.[3][4]
At some stage in 1964,[5] Hendrix met Knight in the lobby of a Harlem residential hotel and they hit it off. Hendrix became a member of the band Curtis Knight and the Squires in October the following year.[6] While with the band, Hendrix signed a contract with the owner of PPX Studios, Ed Chaplin for just one dollar. This would later cause major problems for Hendrix.[7] He finally left The Squires on May 20, 1966.[8]
Releases
editIn September 1966, "Hornet's Nest" bw "Knock Yourself Out" were released on the RSVP label, RSVP 1124. Hendrix co-composed them with Jerry Simon.[9][10] The two songs on the single are the representative of Hendrix's first compositions to be on a recorded release.[11]
In 2000, the UK label Jungle records released the album Jimi Hendrix with Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions which in addition to the 10 studio tracks included 5 bonus live tracks.[12]
In 2015, the album You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions was released. It featured recordings Hendrix made with the group around 1965.[13] The album features "Hornets Nest", "No Such Animal", and "Knock Yourself Out". It also features a song called "How Would You Feel", which has a strong resemblance to Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".[14] Allmusic's review of the album by Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes Knight "rewriting Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" as a black rock protest song called "How Would You Feel" " [14]
Personnel
edit- Napoleon Anderson aka Hank Anderson ... bass
- Marion Booker ... drums (often spelled Marlon Booker)
- George Bragg ... drums
- Nathaniel Edmonds Sr. aka Nate Edmonds ... keyboards
- Ditto Edwards ... drums
- Ed "Bugs" Gregory ... bass
- Ace Hall ... bass & tambourine
- James Marshall Hendrix aka Jimmy James aka Jimi Hendrix ... guitar & vocals
- Harry Jensen - guitar & bass
- Curtis McNear aka Curtis Knight ... vocals, guitar & tambourine
- Ray Lucas ... drums
- "Shears" ... guitar (participated in the 1967 sessions)
- Lonnie Thomas aka Lonnie Youngblood ... sax & vocals[15]
Discography
edit| Title | Release info | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Hornet's Nest" / "Knock Yourself Out" | RSVP RSVP 1124 | 1966 | [16] |
| Title | Release info | Year | F | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'Knock Yourself Out' The 1965 Studio Sessions | Jungle Records FREUD CD 066 | 2000 | CD | UK release[17] |
| You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions |
Experience Hendrix, Sony Music, Legacy 88875077992 |
2015 | CD | [18] |
References
edit- ^ Billboard - ARTISTS / Curtis Knight & the Squires
- ^ Jimi Hendrix FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Voodoo Child, By Gary J. Jucha - May, 1966, however ...
- ^ Jimihendrix.com - You Can't Use My Name – The RSVP/PPX Sessions To Be Released March 24
- ^ Daily Express - Remembering Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970, 11/13
- ^ Jimi Hendrix - from the Benjamin Franklin Studios, 3rd Edition, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 302
- ^ The New York Observer, 06/13/17 - Jimi Hendrix's North Jersey Days By Ron Hart
- ^ Jimi Hendrix - from the Benjamin Franklin Studios, 3rd Edition, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 302
- ^ Jimi Hendrix FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Voodoo Child, By Gary J. Jucha - May, 1966, however ...
- ^ 45Cat - Curtis Knight & The Squires – Hornet's Nest / Knock Yourself Out
- ^ Jimi Hendrix - From The Benjamin Franklin Studios Part 2, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 54 A218.
- ^ Ultimate Classic Rock, February 18, 2015 - Jimi Hendrix's Early Recordings With Curtis Knight to Be Released Next Month By Michael Gallucci
- ^ Discogs - Jimi Hendrix With Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions
- ^ Rolling Stone, February 18, 2015 - Jimi Hendrix's Early Curtis Knight Recordings Set for Official Release By Daniel Kreps
- ^ a b AllMusic - Curtis Knight & the Squires / Curtis Knight, You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
- ^ Early Hendrix - Curtis Knight (& the Squires), Personnel
- ^ 45Cat - Curtis Knight And The Squires - Discography
- ^ Discogs - Jimi Hendrix With Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions
- ^ AllMusic - Jimi Hendrix / Curtis Knight / Curtis Knight & the Squires, You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions, CD - Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony Music #88875077992)