Robert Knight (musician)

Robert Knight (born 24 April 1945, Franklin, Tennessee) is an American singer.

Career

Knight made his professional vocal debut with the Paramounts, a harmony quintet consisting of schoolfriends. Signed to Dot Records in 1960, they recorded "Free Me" in 1961, a U.S. R&B hit single, outselling the rival cover version by Johnny Preston.

After this initial success their subsequent releases flopped and resulted in the group breaking up. Unfortunately, they also broke their recording contract with Dot and were prevented from recording for four-and-a-half years. Knight continued his studies in chemistry at the Tennessee State University, where he formed vocal trio the Fairlanes. In 1967, Knight was spotted performing with the Fairlanes in Nashville, Tennessee, and was offered a contract as a solo artist by the Rising Sons label. His first recording, "Everlasting Love", written by label owners Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, was an immediate success, reaching number 14 on the R&B charts, and actually did better on the Billboard Hot 100 getting to number 13.

This enduring song was an even bigger success in the UK the following year where a cover version by Love Affair reached number 1, and in doing so, kept the original singer from progressing further than a Top 40 position. Knight scored two further pop hits at home, "Blessed Are The Lonely" and "Isn't It Lonely Together".

In 1973, he oversaw another chart entry in the UK when "Love On A Mountain Top" reached the Top 10. Whilst the re-issued "Everlasting Love" went even higher in the UK the following year, this time achieving Top 20 status. He continues to advance his career in chemical research, while occasionally performing and recording.

As for his signature song, "Everlasting Love," it has been revived and returned to hit status several times over the years, including by Carl Carlton in 1974, a duet between Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet in 1981, and Gloria Estefan in 1995.

Robert Knight worked at the Tennessee State Prison (The Walls) during the 1980's.

Robert Knight is currently an employee at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he works on the grounds crew.

External links

* [http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Robert-Knight.html Oldies.com Biography on Robert Knight]
* [http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/knight_robert/bio.jhtml CMT.com artists page: Robert Knight]