Howard A. Knight Jr. is an American former
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
promoter and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, who once planned to build a
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
-themed
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
.
[Discog]
Howard A. Knight, Jr. Discography
/ref>
Personal background
Knight comes from Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the ci ...
.
Career
Companies and labels
During the 1970s, he was the president of Howard Knight Enterprises which was the umbrella org for Superior Record Distributing Co, a record distributor based in Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
, Tennessee. Superior was located at Suite 102, 50 Music Square West. Knight was the president for Superior and Christopher McMillen was the executive vice-president. The company represented Grape Records, GMC Records, Colonial Records and Volunteer Records. In August 1979, the company moved a short distance, relocating to the SESAC building at 11 Music Square in Nashville.
Around 1980, he formed a record company called HKE Records (Howard Knight Enterprises) that was operating out of Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
. The first release for the label was by a country group from Louisiana called Blue Sage with "Fallin In Love Again" and "Bobbie Sue". Other acts to have releases were on the label were Aces Up and Devlin with "Door To Door Lover". Devlin, a country rock artist was also under Knight's personal management. In 1986, he formed Telstar Productions a company to produce, promote, market and distribute records. He also formed another record label called Pegasus Records. One of the first releases this label put out was a single by Mark Alan called "Wadda Done With My Heart".
Later years
His company Knight Shows & Events has promoted doll shows in North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
, South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = G ...
, and Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
.
Amusement park
Knight claimed that he had a visitation from God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
and that he was instructed to build an amusement park with a biblical theme. The organization to oversee the running of the park was to be a non-profit org called Gods Wonderful World Inc. In 1997, the organization purchased a 2000-acre site near Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney is a city in and the county seat, seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate South Carolina, Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,539 ...
. There were two sizable lakes and a river adjacent to the site. The theme of the park was to be Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
to Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on th ...
. It would feature electronic technology which included 3D movies and robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...
ics.
Music production
In 1971 he produced a funk-soul single called "Interpretation - Soul Power No.1" bw "Souladelic" for the group Soul Impossibles that was released on the Champ label. It was re-released years later on FUNK45.[FUNK-O-LOG]
Soul Impossibles - Interpretation – Soul Power No.1 / Souladelic
/ref>
Among the other records he produced was an unusual record single called "Funky Country" by Jesters III
Mike Bullman is an American country and rock & roll singer, guitarist and songwriter originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. For a period of time that spanned three decades, he was the leader of a group called The Jesters aka Jesters III. So ...
. The track was a country soul
''Country Soul'' contains recordings of a prestardom Glen Campbell, which were made around 1960-1961. This album, just like the other Starday album '' Country Music Star No. 1'', was released after Glen Campbell rose to international fame with h ...
-styled song with Elvis-type vocals by Mike Corliss
Mike Bullman is an American country and rock & roll singer, guitarist and songwriter originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. For a period of time that spanned three decades, he was the leader of a group called The Jesters aka Jesters III. So ...
. Another single for the group that he produced was "Little Eve" bw "Lonely Blue Boy" which was released in 1972.[45Ca]
Jesters III, Little Eve
/ref> He also produced a solo single for Mike Corliss, "Too Much Of A Woman" bw "You Said It All Before" released on the Boss Records label in March 1972. In 1977, Knight produced a single for Leon Everette
Leon Everette Baughman (born June 21, 1948) is an American country music artist.
Background
He was born in Aiken, South Carolina, United States. While in the Navy during the Vietnam War, Everette won a singing contest and decided to pursue a c ...
, "Sill Loving You".
List of productions (selective)
* Soul Impossibles - "Interpretation - Soul Power No.1"/ "Souladelic" - Champ 2030 - (1971)Claude King
Claude King (February 5, 1923 – March 7, 2013) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, " Wolverton Mountain".
Biography
King was born in Keithville in southern Caddo Parish sout ...
- "Cotton Dan" / "I'll Spend My Lifetime Loving You - True Records
True Records was a record label that was active in the 1970s. It was located in Nashville, Tennessee. The distribution was handled by World Wide Music. It started attracting attention with artists such as Leon Everette and Claude King who had his ...
Inc. – T-103 - (1977)[Discog]
Claude King (2) – Cotton Dan / I'll Spend My Lifetime Loving You
/ref>
* Claude King - "Sugar Baby, Candy Girl" / "Just A Bum Husband" - True T106 - (1977)
* Gloria Glore – "Promise Me Nothing" / "There Hangs His Hat" - True Records Inc. – T-108 - (1977)
* Leon Everette – "Goobye King Of Rock 'N' Roll" / "Where The Daisies Grow Wild" - True – T-107 - (1977)
* Leon Everette - "I Love That Woman (Like The Devil Loves Sin)" / "Still Loving You" - True T-110 - (1977)
* David Houston - "The Waltz Of The Angels" / "Next Sunday I'm Gonna Be Saved" - Electra E-45513 - (1978)
* Benjamin - "The Moon Man" / "The Moon Man" - Colonial SC-2007 - (1979)
* David Heavener - "First Day Of Never" / "Let's Go Chasing Rainbows" - Colonial SC-2008 - (1979)
* The Bandit Band - "Do You Wanna Fall In Love" / "Do You Wanna Fall In Love" - Pegasus Records HKE-PEG-108 - (1986)[45Ca]
Howard A. Knight All
/ref>
* Soul Impossibles - "Interpretation - Soul Power No.1"/ "Souladelic" - Funk45 – FUNK45.036 - (2007)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Howard
Record producers from South Carolina
Music promoters
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)