Frederick Knight (singer)


Frederick Knight is an American R&B singer, songwriter and record producer.

Biography

Knight recorded with Mercury and Capitol in New York before signing with Stax Records in 1972. He had his only UK hit single, "I've Been Lonely for So Long", in 1972. The song was on the chart for 10 weeks and reached number 22. Lack of further chart activity leaves him labelled as a one-hit wonder. However, Knight did appear in the documentary film Wattstax, which was released in 1973.
After Stax's demise Knight launched Juana Records, writing and producing The Controllers, and he had a UK Number 1 chart credit with Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" in 1979. Knight cut "I've Been Lonely for So Long" in Birmingham, Alabama, with a seasoned southern soul crew behind him, and hit again in 1975 with "I Betcha Didn't Know That".
The song "Be for Real", written by Knight and originally performed by Marlena Shaw on her 1976 album Just a Matter of Time, was covered by Leonard Cohen for his 1992 album The Future and subsequently by The Afghan Whigs for the 1996 movie Beautiful Girls.