Bernie Knee (Feb. 14, 1924, New York City – Nov. 20, 1994,

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

) was an actor and singer/musician. While his birth name was Bernard Knee, most music industry magazines spelled his name Bernie Nee, which was also how his name was spelled on most of the recordings he issued during the 1950s. Knee was born and raised in the Bronx, the son of Louis and Celia Knee. He was a 1948 graduate of New York University, and became interested in performing while serving in the Navy during World War II. A versatile musician, he played guitar, piano and bass in addition to being a vocalist. He performed at some of New York's biggest clubs, including the Copacabana, the Riverboat, and Michael's Pub. In addition, he became known as an accomplished demo singer who made more than 5,000 demo recordings for songwriters in many genres. His biggest top-40 hit was one where his name did not appear: he was in a studio group called the Five Blobs. This band was assembled in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California for the express purpose of recording "The Blob", the title song for the

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

film ''

The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe a ...

''. Written by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

and Mack David ( Hal David's brother), the tune featured a prominent

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

part. The single was released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and became a hit, peaking at No. 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1958. It also hit the Top Ten on the regional LA charts. The single's B side consisted of a song entitled "Saturday Night in Tiajuana" iccredited to Bacharach. Bernie Nee was not listed on any of the promotional materials for the film or the record. To protest this oversight, Nee bought advertisements in music industry trade publications, showcasing his name, whereupon he was terminated from Columbia. Nee signed with Joy Records, where The Five Blobs released two 45s in 1959: "From the Top of Your Guggle (to the Bottom of Your Zooch)" backed with "Rockin' Pow Wow," and "Juliet" b/w "Young and Wild." He continued to record, make demos, and sing in New York area clubs into the mid-1960s. For example, he worked on "Sixteen Cubes of Sugar" (by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield) and "That's What I Call True Love" (by Keller and

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

), both with

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. In 1974, he released "Hang In There, Mr. President" with

Frank Yankovic Frank John Yankovic (July 28, 1915 – October 14, 1998) was an American accordion player and polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King", Yankovic was considered the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during his long career. He ...

and his Orchestra on a 45pm Telemark single, written by

Henry Tobias Henry Tobias (Worcester, Massachusetts, 23 April 1905 – 5 December 1997) was an American songwriter. He was the youngest of the three brothers, Charles Tobias, Harry Tobias Tobias wrote the 1974 song "Hang In There, Mr. President" in support of Ri ...

in support of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's fight to avoid impeachment. He also made appearances on the ''

Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

'' Broadway cast album (1979),

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

's ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

'' (1980) and

Max Conrad Max Arthur Conrad, Jr. (January 21, 1903 – April 3, 1979 in Summit, New Jersey) known as the "Flying Grandfather", was a record-setting aviator. In the 1950s and 1960s, he set nine official light plane world records, three of which still stan ...

's ''Let's Fly! Flight Inspired Music''. In 1979, he relocated to Florida, where he died of cancer in 1994, at age 70.John Gittelsohn. "Bernard Knee, 70, Recorder, Composer." ''South Florida Sun-Sentinel'', November 21, 1994, p. 18.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knee, Bernie 1924 births 1994 deaths American male actors American male singers United States Navy personnel of World War II New York University alumni