Chris Knight

Chris Knight

Chris Knight is an American singer-songwriter from Slaughters, Kentucky, working in americana, country and singer-songwriter traditions. He grows up in Slaughters and has extended family in the same area of Kentucky. He is born in 1960.

Early life and musical development

Knight is born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Slaughters, Kentucky. He has three brothers and a sister. He asks for a plastic guitar for Christmas when he is three years old, and by 15 he is serious about music, teaching himself John Prine songs on his older brother’s guitar. He later says he can play around 35 to 40 John Prine songs.

Education and work

Knight earns a degree in agriculture from Western Kentucky University. Before his recording career, he works for ten years as a mine reclamation inspector and as a miner’s consultant for the Kentucky Department of Surface Mining.

Songwriting and recording career

Knight starts composing at 26 and begins performing at 30. He gets his first record deal at 37. Alongside his solo releases, he builds a career as a songwriter whose songs are recorded by Confederate Railroad, John Anderson and Randy Travis, among others.

Later recognition

His material is listed by The New York Times Magazine among works reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.