There is both photographic and written evidence for Johnny Starr participating in 1965 Curtis Knight -recordings which also involved Jimi Hendrix. One of the two 1965 photos of Johnny Starr at a Curtis Knight session shows him doing backing vocals with Jimi and Curtis and the recordings that we have and the statements from the people involved match the picture. Note that in the two available studio pictures everybody is wearing different clothes in each shot so these were taken at two different recording sessions.
It seems that Johnny Starr contributed just vocals, I haven't found any evidence so far for him playing an instrument on any of the Curtis Knight recordings but it isn't ruled out in any way either.
On some of the demo recordings done by Curtis & Jimi to my ears it sounds like there's a third singer present. This may very well be Johnny Starr as the demo recordings were very likely done roughly during the same period as the studio recording that involved Johnny. Unfortunately it`s very hard to ID him as the demo recordings are in mono, mostly of very rough audio quality and it's hard to hear separate vocal contributions very clearly. I do however believe that it's quite possible that one of the background vocalists is Johnny Starr and I have noted his possible contributions on the demo recordings -page.
So there are currently three studio recording from 1965 on which Johnny Starr is more or less confirmed to be doing backing vocals. All three songs are detailed on this page and are available on the Curtis Knight & the Squires album You Can't Use My Name, you can listen to these on the Spotify-player embedded below:
1 "How Would You Feel"
3 "Don't Accuse Me"
12 "You Don't Want Me"
I will listen to all of the Curtis Knight recordings and note possible involvement by Johnny Starr but that will happen over time (as there is a lot to listen to...). As listing all of the track information here would be unnecessary duplication please have a look at the 1965 Curtis Knight studio recordings -page for much more detail, included here is a concise version of the session info for the tracks with (probable) Johnny Starr involvement.
OCTOBER 1965 PPX recordings
By October 1965 Curtis Knight had formed some kind of a working relationship with Ed Chalpin and PPX Enterprises, Inc. Whether this was a management or a recording contract (or both of them) is unknown. At least three songs ("How Would You Feel", "Don't Accuse Me" and "You Don't Want Me") were recorded for PPX in October 1965 at Chalpin's Studio "76".
How Would You Feel
Composer: Curtis Knight
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Arranged by: Jimi Hendrix
Recorded at: Studio "76", New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: 6 October 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
Harmony vocals: Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Knight, Johnny Starr
Tambourine: Jimi Hendrix?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Fuzz bass: Jimi Hendrix
Drums: unknown
The track owes more than a little to Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" released in July 1965. As Jimi was a huge Dylan fan this must have been partly because of his influence even though Curtis Knight is credited as the sole composer. Asked about the session Jimi said "...the first session we did was the one that I played all the instruments except the drums" and regarding overdubs "I guess about four including the bass" 4.
Curtis Knight wrote about this track in his book Jimi: 1
"At this first session Jimi played every instrument except the drums. He arranged all the instrumentations and even sang vocal background with me and another friend."
Ed Chalpin wrote about the session in the liner notes for the lp The Eternal Fire of Jimi Hendrix: 2
"Picture 1 shows the very first Jimi Hendrix recording session, showing Curtis Knight, Jimi Hendrix and Ed Chalpin, 1965"
The picture in question is the color shot with Johnny Starr to Jimi's left.
In a letter to UK music publishers Campbell Connelly & Co. Limited dated 8 November 1965 Ed Chalpin says he's sending over five acetates of songs available for publishing (no titles are listed so these might have included other artists in addition to Curtis Knight). He makes special mention of one track:
"...really hot numbers, especially the protest song, "How Would You Feel." As you know, the protest records are really taking the country by storm." 6.
Original 1965 copyright registration 2:
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL (IF YOU WERE ME)?
w & m Curtis Knight, pseud. of Curtis
McNear. © Curtis Knight; 250ct65;
EU909064.
Don't Accuse Me
Composer: Curtis Knight
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Arranged by: Jimi Hendrix?
Recorded at: Studio "76", New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: October 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
Harmony vocals: probably Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Knight, Johnny Starr
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Fuzz bass: Jimi Hendrix?
Bass: Jimi Hendrix?
Drums: unknown
Two guitar parts by Jimi and one fuzz bass part. The fuzz box Jimi is using could be the one that Ken Pine of the Fugs built for him. The mix released on the You Can't Use My Name Experience Hendrix -album has Jimi introducing the track as "Take 30" - but we don't know if the intro actually belongs to this take and Jimi may or may not have been joking.
"Don't Accuse Me" was originally designated as the flip side of the "How Would You Feel" 45. In a letter to the record label RCA Victor dated 2 November 1965 Ed Chalpin wrote: "How Would You Feel" is the protest song and probably the greatest one written yet. Backed with "Don't Accuse Me" which is a hard driving rhythm and blues tune which continues to build all the way through." 5.
Original 1965 copyright registration 2:
DON'T ACCUSE ME; w & m Curtis Knight,
pseud. of Curtis McNear. © Curtis
Knight; 250ct65; EU909O63.
You Don't Want Me
Composer: Curtis Knight
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Arranged by: Jimi Hendrix?
Recorded at: Studio "76", New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: October 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
Harmony vocals: Johnny Starr?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Fuzz bass: Jimi Hendrix?
Bass: Jimi Hendrix?
Drums: unknown
The harmony vocals may have been sung by Johnny Starr, check especially the "hey hey heeey" -part at 1.26, this clearly isn't Jimi and it does not sound like Curtis Knight either.
Original 1965 copyright registration 2:
YOU DON'T WANT ME; w & m Curtis Knight,
pseud. of Curtis McNear. © Curtis
Knight; 250ct65; EU909166.
If you have a suggestions, additional information, comments or corrections please email me at
SOURCES
1 Jimi An intimate biography of Jimi Hendrix by Curtis Knight (and Nick Dobson) 1974, page 32 (the edition that I'm quoting was published by Star Books in 1975)
2 liner notes for the lp The Eternal Fire of Jimi Hendrix (Hallmark SHM 732), creited to "Ed Chalpin, London 1971"
JOHNNY STARR