| Jerry Knight | |
| Birth Name: | Jerry Ernest Knight |
| Birth Date: | 17 April 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genre: | R&B |
| Occupation: | Singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instrument: | Bass guitar, vocals |
| Years Active: | 1978–1996 |
| Label: | Arista, A&M |
| Associated Acts: | Raydio |
Jerry Ernest Knight (April 17, 1952 – December 29, 1996) was an American R&B vocalist and bassist[1] who reached prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which he was part of several groups and had a brief solo career.
A Los Angeles native,[1] 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." 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".
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.[2] They also recorded the title track for , which got to #45 on the Billboard R&B chart.[2]
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".[3] 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.
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).[4]
Knight died of cancer in Los Angeles on December 29, 1996, at age 44.[5] He is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery.
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [6] | US R&B | |||||
| 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. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US R&B [7] | US Dance | ||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 | |
| align=center rowspan="2" | 1983 | The Whispers | "Tonight" | Love for Love |
| Philip Bailey | "Desire" | Continuation | ||
| align=center rowspan="5" | 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 | ||
| "Running Around" | Steppin' Out | |||
| align=center rowspan="9" | 1985 | "Stand Up" | The Vision | |
| "It Takes a Woman" | Step by Step | |||
| "Sexy Feelin" | Making a Game Out of Love | |||
| "Curiosity" | The Jets | |||
| "Crush on You" | ||||
| "Private Number" | ||||
| "Love Umbrella" | ||||
| "Heart on the Line" | ||||
| "Right Before My Eyes" | ||||
| align=center rowspan="5" | 1986 | "Save the Best for Me" | In Love | |
| "Life Savier" | ||||
| "Tenderoni" | Surrender | |||
| "You Have Got to Come to Me" | ||||
| "What Goes Around" | ||||
| align=center rowspan="3" | 1987 | "Cry on Me" | Reservations for Two | |
| "Everlasting" | Everlasting | |||
| "Drive Another Girl Home" | Brenda K. Starr | |||
| align=center rowspan="2" | 1988 | "Challenge" | Forever and Ever | |
| "Physical Attraction" | Rock the World | |||
| 1992 | "Give Me Something Good" | Love for the Future |