Jean Knight, Legendary 'Mr. Big Stuff' Singer, Dead at 80

People ^ | 11/27/23 | Esher Walcott

[DallasBiff]

"Mr. Big Stuff" singer Jean Knight has died aged 80.

Knight, whose iconic 1971 song topped the charts for five weeks, died in her hometown of New Orleans last Wednesday, her family confirmed in a statement shared by New Orleans broadcaster LBJ on X (formerly known as Twitter) Sunday.

[DallasBiff]

The 70's have so many iconic songs.

RIP Jean.

[dforest]

Who do you think you are?

[Enterprise]

Very likeable song.

[higgmeister]

Sssssooooouuuulll Train!

[Desron13]

I so miss the Motown Sound. All we get now is the rap crap which I don’t actually think of as “music”.

[fidelis]

In early 1970, Knight was discovered by songwriter Ralph Williams, who wanted her to record some songs. With Williams' connections, Knight came in contact with record producer Wardell Quezergue. In May of that year, Knight went to Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi, for a recording session during which she recorded "Mr. Big Stuff." After the session was finished, the song was shopped to producers at several national labels, all of whom rejected it. But when King Floyd's hit "Groove Me" (also recorded at Malaco Studios) became a #1 R&B hit in early 1971, a producer at Stax Records remembered Knight's recording of "Mr. Big Stuff," and released it. The song also proved to be an instant smash in 1971, reaching No. 2 on the pop chart and becoming a No. 1 R&B hit. It went double-platinum and received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female; it lost to Aretha Franklin's version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. Knight performed the hit song on Soul Train.

--Wikipedia

[Sirius Lee]

I call the pic on the right "Two and Fro"

[fidelis]

Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff (Soul Train)

[higgmeister]

I know what you mean.   I think that the old style rap back in the day was music, but when it quickly became a formulaic thug culture thing, it jumped the shark so to speak.

[Fido969]

What a great song.

[dforest]

After I saw this I was singing it in my mind. It fits a few people I have known in my life.