Curtis Knight and the Squires

Curtis Knight and the Squires
LabelsDagger Records, Experience Hendrix, Legacy, PPX, RSVP, Sony Music
Past membersHank Anderson
Marion Booker Jr.<br Nate Edmonds
Ace Hall
Henry Henderson
Jimi Hendrix
Curtis McNear
Ray Lucas
Lonnie Youngblood
Ditto Edwards

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

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The 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

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In 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

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  • 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

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Singles
Title Release info Year Notes
"Hornet's Nest" / "Knock Yourself Out" RSVP RSVP 1124 1966 [16]
Albums
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

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  1. ^ Billboard - ARTISTS / Curtis Knight & the Squires
  2. ^ Jimi Hendrix FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Voodoo Child, By Gary J. Jucha - May, 1966, however ...
  3. ^ Jimihendrix.com - You Can't Use My Name – The RSVP/PPX Sessions To Be Released March 24
  4. ^ Daily Express - Remembering Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970, 11/13
  5. ^ Jimi Hendrix - from the Benjamin Franklin Studios, 3rd Edition, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 302
  6. ^ The New York Observer, 06/13/17 - Jimi Hendrix's North Jersey Days By Ron Hart
  7. ^ Jimi Hendrix - from the Benjamin Franklin Studios, 3rd Edition, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 302
  8. ^ Jimi Hendrix FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Voodoo Child, By Gary J. Jucha - May, 1966, however ...
  9. ^ 45Cat - Curtis Knight & The Squires – Hornet's Nest / Knock Yourself Out
  10. ^ Jimi Hendrix - From The Benjamin Franklin Studios Part 2, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 54 A218.
  11. ^ Ultimate Classic Rock, February 18, 2015 - Jimi Hendrix's Early Recordings With Curtis Knight to Be Released Next Month By Michael Gallucci
  12. ^ Discogs - Jimi Hendrix With Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions
  13. ^ Rolling Stone, February 18, 2015 - Jimi Hendrix's Early Curtis Knight Recordings Set for Official Release By Daniel Kreps
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ Early Hendrix - Curtis Knight (& the Squires), Personnel
  16. ^ 45Cat - Curtis Knight And The Squires - Discography
  17. ^ Discogs - Jimi Hendrix With Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions
  18. ^ 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)
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