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 The band is referred to as a workaday party R&B band by Billboard.Billboard - ARTISTS / Curtis Knight & the Squires The line up of the group wasn't always with the same musicians. Sax player Lonnie Youngblood had been a member.Jimi Hendrix FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Voodoo Child, By Gary J. Jucha - May, 1966, however ... 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.Jimihendrix.com - You Can't Use My Name – The RSVP/PPX Sessions To Be Released March 24Daily Express - Remembering Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970, 11/13

At some stage in 1964,Jimi Hendrix - from the Benjamin Franklin Studios, 3rd Edition, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 302 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.The New York Observer, 06/13/17 - Jimi Hendrix's North Jersey Days By Ron Hart 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.Jimi Hendrix - from the Benjamin Franklin Studios, 3rd Edition, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 302 He finally left The Squires on May 20, 1966.Jimi Hendrix FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Voodoo Child, By Gary J. Jucha - May, 1966, however ...

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.45Cat - Curtis Knight & The Squires – Hornet's Nest / Knock Yourself OutJimi Hendrix - From The Benjamin Franklin Studios Part 2, By Gary Geldeart, Steve Rodham - Page 54 A218. The two songs on the single are the representative of Hendrix's first compositions to be on a recorded release.Ultimate Classic Rock, February 18, 2015 - Jimi Hendrix's Early Recordings With Curtis Knight to Be Released Next Month By Michael Gallucci

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.Discogs - Jimi Hendrix With Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions

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.Rolling Stone, February 18, 2015 - Jimi Hendrix's Early Curtis Knight Recordings Set for Official Release By Daniel Kreps 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".AllMusic - Curtis Knight & the Squires / Curtis Knight, You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine 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" "

Personnel Napoleon Anderson Hank Anderson ... bass Marion Booker ... drums (often spelled Marlon Booker) George Bragg ... drums Nathaniel Edmonds Sr. a.k.a. Nate Edmonds ... keyboards Ditto Edwards ... drums Ed "Bugs" Gregory ... bass Ace Hall ... bass & tambourine James Marshall Hendrix a.k.a. Jimmy James a.k.a. Jimi Hendrix ... guitar & vocals Harry Jensen - guitar & bass Curtis McNear a.k.a. Curtis Knight ... vocals, guitar & tambourine Ray Lucas ... drums "Shears" ... guitar (participated in the 1967 sessions) Lonnie Thomas a.k.a. Lonnie Youngblood ... sax & vocalsEarly Hendrix - Curtis Knight (& the Squires), Personnel

Discography

+ Singles Title Release info Year Notes "Hornet's Nest" / "Knock Yourself Out" RSVP RSVP 1124 1966 45Cat - Curtis Knight And The Squires - Discography

+ Albums Title Release info Year F Notes 'Knock Yourself Out' The 1965 Studio Sessions Jungle Records FREUD CD 066 2000 CD UK releaseDiscogs - Jimi Hendrix With Curtis Knight & The Squires – Knock Yourself Out: The 1965 Studio Sessions You Can't Use My Name: The RSVP/PPX Sessions Experience Hendrix, Sony Music, Legacy 88875077992 2015 CD 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)

References

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