Biography
Born as Joseph C. Smith in 1934 in Maywood, Illinois, the singer later known as Sonny Knight scored his lone hit with the lovely R&B ballad ‘Confidential’, which entered the Billboard charts in 1956 before he vanished from view. His family relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1950s, where he performed and also completed a novel. Prompted by a girlfriend to pursue a record deal, he opened the telephone directory and dialed the first label he found, Aladdin Records. Adopting the professional name Sonny Knight, he cut unsuccessful sides for Aladdin before moving to Specialty Records. There, producer Robert ‘Bumps’ Blackwell teamed him with songwriter Dorina Morgan, wife of producer Hite Morgan, who wrote ‘Confidential’ for him. The single peaked at number 17 in the USA, yet Knight proved unable to repeat its success. Two further releases of modest impact appeared in the mid-1960s, after which he withdrew from singing.
Albums
Singles
