Chris Knight (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter from

Slaughters, Kentucky Slaughters is a home rule-class city in Webster County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 238 at the 2000 census. Slaughters lies just west of US 41 and east of Dixon. CSX Transportation runs through Slaughters and operates a siding ...

. In addition to releasing solo records of his own material, Knight has had a successful career writing songs that have been recorded by

Confederate Railroad Confederate Railroad (originally known as "Confederate RR") is an American country rock band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia, by Danny Shirley (lead vocals), Michael Lamb (lead guitar), Mark Dufresne (drums), Chris McDaniel (keyboards), Warr ...

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

, and

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

among others.

Biography

Early life

Knight was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and grew up in

. His extended family lives in the same area of Kentucky. Knight has three brothers and a sister. His father was a pipe liner. When he was three years old, he asked for a plastic guitar for Christmas. At 15, he became serious and began teaching himself

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

songs on his older brother's guitar. In an interview, Knight commented "At one point I could play probably 35–40 John Prine songs." Knight earned a degree in agriculture from

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. He worked for ten years as a

mine reclamation Mine reclamation is the process of modifying land that has been mined to ecologically functional or economically usable state. Although the process of mine reclamation occurs once mining is completed, the planning of mine reclamation activiti ...

inspector and as a miner's consultant for the Kentucky Department of Surface Mining.

Music career

Knight started composing when he was 26, but didn't start performing until he was 30. He got his first record deal when he was 37.

Nashville

In 1986, he heard

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

on the radio and decided to start writing songs. After six years he came to Nashville and won a spot on a songwriters' night at the

Bluebird Cafe The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

. He attracted the interest of music producer

Frank Liddell Frank Liddell (born November 13, 1963) is an American record producer. A former artists and repertoire director at Decca Records, he founded Carnival Music in 1999. Liddell is also married to singer Lee Ann Womack, for whom he has produced. Oth ...

, who signed him to a contract with Bluewater Music. When

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

hired Liddell for an A&R position, Knight received a contract and in 1998 Decca released his self-titled debut. Knight still lived in a 10'-x-15' trailer on in Slaughters when the album was released. Decca folded at the end of the 1990s, only two years after Knight joined the label. After a couple years without a label, Knight signed with Dualtone Music Group. Knight licensed his music to

Dualtone Records Dualtone Records is an American record label specializing in folk, Americana, and indie rock. It was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington. The company is run by Robinson and the label's president, Paul Roper. Albums are distribute ...

for two records, then decided to release his music independently with the help of his manager.

Texas

Knight is well known and because of his particular fame in Texas, was named an "Honorary Texan" in 2006 by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Early releases

He recorded his first demo tapes, bootlegged—and then self-released—while living alone in a trailer on his property outside Slaughters. Called ''The Trailer Tapes'', they were officially released in 2007. They were one of his best-selling records.

''Little Victories''

It took Knight four years to release ''Little Victories'' in 2012. Knight's former Decca labelmate,

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

, collaborated with him on "You Lie When You Call My Name." Long-time musical hero

sings on the title track.

Buddy Miller Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller. ...

plays guitar and sings on two tracks: "Missing You" and "Nothing on Me."

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

Songs written or co-written by Knight

* "A Pretty Good Guy" –

Fred Eaglesmith Frederick John Elgersma (born July 9, 1957), known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. He is known for writing songs about vehicles, rural life, down-and-out characters, lost love and quirky rur ...

* "A Train Not Running" – Stacy Dean Campbell * "Becky's Bible" – Jason Savory * "Cry Lonely" –

Cross Canadian Ragweed Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American rock band formed in Yukon, Oklahoma in 1994. The band consisted of Cody Canada (lead guitar/vocals), Grady Cross (guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and Jeremy Plato (bass guitar). The group released five st ...

* "Heart of Stone" –

Dan Baird Daniel John Baird (born December 12, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist from the 1980s rock band The Georgia Satellites. Baird formed The Georgia Satellites in 19 ...

* "Highway Junkie" – Randy Travis,

Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his country music debut with the release of his single " Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album '' U ...

, The Yayhoos, The Von Ehrics * "I Don't Want to Hang Out With Me" – Confederate Railroad * "It Ain't Easy Being Me" –

Jason McCoy Jason McCoy (born Jason Dwight Campsall on August 27, 1970) is a Canadian country singer-songwriter. He has won the 2001 Male Vocalist of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards, 3 SOCAN Song of the Year awards, 19 CCMA nominations and ...

, and

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

* "Love and Gasoline" and "She's Leaving This Town" – The Great Divide * "Love at 90 Miles an Hour" –

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamon ...

* "She Couldn't Change Me" – Montgomery Gentry * "The Hammer Goin Down" –

The Road Hammers The Road Hammers are a Canadian country rock group composed of Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne. Formed by McCoy as a side project, the trio's music is influenced by 1960s and 1970s trucker music and Southern rock. Their first self-ti ...

Television appearances

In 2015, Chris Knight was featured in Season 1, Episode 2 of CarbonTV's original series, American Elements.

References

External links

Official WebsiteChris Knight appearance on American Elements
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Chris American country singer-songwriters Living people 1960 births People from Webster County, Kentucky Western Kentucky University alumni Decca Records artists Dualtone Records artists Country musicians from Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Americana musicians