Singer of Mr. Big Stuff Jean Knight Died at Age 80

Jean Knight, ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ Singer, Dead at 80

Although the New Orleans soul singer’s biggest hit was Stax, she also had hits with “You Got the Papers (But I Got the Man) and My Toot Toot.

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Jean Knight, ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ Singer, Dead at 80 Mr. Big Stuff was incredibly relatable.

According to longtime friend Bernie Cyrus, who confirmed the news to Rolling Stone, Jean Knight, whose 1971 smash hit Mr. Big Stuff” hit Number Two on the Pop charts and spent five weeks at Number One on the R&B charts, has passed away at the age of 80.

We had a long relationship with her and she was just fabulous. She was the first person we appointed to the board when we took it over. Bernie Cyrus was the Louisiana Music Commission’s executive director. for two decades, says. She was always willing to get involved with good causes and help out.

Mr. Big Stuff was incredibly relatable.

People still recall it. And look, it was covered by a tonne of people. Cyrus continues, But nobody did it like Jean.

New Orleans native Knight started performing in public once she completed her high school education. Bands from around town became interested in her appearance and supported her life. Her first recording, a demo of Jackie Wilson’s “Stop Doggin’ Me Around,” was made in 1965, and it helped her land a recording deal with the Jet Star/Tribe labels. She kept making records and enhancing her local reputation.

Her big break came when she started collaborating with record producer Wardell Quezergue in 1970. When the two fired “Mr. Big Stuff” at Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi, she was employed as a baker. Stax Records released a sassy funk hit that became one of the label’s best-selling singles. The song, which features the refrain Who do you think you are? and challenges male conceit went viral on the charts. In addition to going double platinum, it was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female. More than three million copies were sold overall, according to the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. The song was featured on the eponymous album.

Knight pursued her musical career after leaving Stax, recording songs for a number of labels, though none of them could match the enormous success of “Mr. Big Stuff. Ten years later, she made headlines once more when she collaborated with producer Isaac Bolden and his Solin label on the song “You Got the Papers (But I Got the Man), which Atlantic Records nationally released and helped the singer go on more tours.