Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix
October 1965
In October 1965 Curtis Knight recorded “How Would You Feel.” Knight’s guitarist was the young and still-living-in-the-USA Jimi Hendrix.
Curtis Knight Jimi Hendrix
Before Knight
In 1962, Hendrix had left the Army after a brief unproductive stint. At least as far as his military prowess was concerned since he spent much of his hitch playing guitar.
In February 1964, Hendrix had won the amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in NYC.
In March 1964, Hendrix was part of the Isley Brothers band and recorded the two-part single “Testify” before beginning a tour with them.
Earlier in 1965, Hendrix had played a session for Rosa Lee Brooks on her single “My Diary” Around the same time he also backed Little Richard on “I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me.”
After Knight
September 22, 1966 was Jimi Hendrix’s first day in England after the Animals’ ex-bassist turned producer Chas Chandler “discovered” him in New York City fronting Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in the various Greenwich Village clubs.
We know the rest of the story. How Paul McCartney’s recommendation let to Hendrix set Monterey afire. How Reprise Records signed Jimi. Woodstock. The Jimi Hendrix sad swan song.
Bandwagon
Though Hendrix only recorded three studio albums, anyone with any of his recordings of any kind tried to jump on the Hendrix goose that seemingly laid only golden eggs.
In 1965, he had signed a contract with PPX records to play with Curtis Knight. After Hendrix and his Experience struck it big with Are You Experienced?, PPX packaged Hendrix’s Knight tracks as its own album while playing up Hendrix’s role in the Squires.
A similar PPX album called Got That Feeling was also planned for the U.K. in 1968 before the courts stepped in and barred the release, with Hendrix himself calling it “musically worthless.”
March 2015
47 years later, Hendrix’s estate, Eperience Hendrix LLC, released You Can’t Use My Name: Curtis Knight & The Squires (featuring Jimi Hendrix) The RSVP/PPX Sessions. The name is an obvious reference to previous legal issues. Experience Hendrix selected 14 of the 88 studio recordings Hendrix had made with Curtis Knight.