Curtis Knight and the Squires

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
Past membersHank Anderson
Marion Booker Jr.
Ed Dantes
Nate Edmonds
Ace Hall
Henry Henderson
Jimi Hendrix
Curtis McNear
Ray Lucas
Lonnie Youngblood
Ditto Edwards

Background

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

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
  • 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
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
  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. 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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