CURTIS KNIGHT (& THE SQUIRES)

1965 Studio Recordings
These recordings and an additional one probably done during 1966 were recorded at Studio 76 in New York City for PPX and were produced by Ed Chalpin. It's hard to give exact dates for these tracks, and the exact number of the sessions is also unknown. The only reliable information comes from Jimi's PPX courtcase deposition from 7 March 1968 (partly reproduced in Univibes #35), based on the questions that Jimi was asked it can be deducted that there was a session on the 6th of October 1965 when "How Would You Feel" was cut and a few more sessions in October & December, but these aren't necessarily all of the sessions that took place. The personnel & date information listed below is mainly based on the above court transcription, and everything with a "?" is just speculation based on the court transcription & other info. It's pretty sure that Jimi didn't take part in any PPX sessions during November 1965 as he spent most or all of the month on tour with Joey Dee & the Starlighters.

NOTE: A full rundown of all the different edits and mixes of these tracks will follow later.

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 & 2-3 unknown persons
Tambourine: Curtis Knight?
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Fuzz bass: Jimi Hendrix
Drums: unknown

Don't Accuse Me
Composer(s): Curtis Knight?
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Recorded at: Studio 76, New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: October? 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
Harmony vocals: unknown
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Fuzz bass: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: unknown
Drums: unknown

Two guitar parts by Jimi and one fuzz bass part. The fuzzbox Jimi is using could be the one that Ken Pine of the Fugs build for him.

You Don't Want Me
Composer(s): Curtis Knight?
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Recorded at: Studio 76, New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: October? 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
Harmony vocals: unknown
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Fuzz bass: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: unknown
Drums: unknown

Welcome Home
Composer: Oliver Sain, Curtis Knight & Dick Glass
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Arranged by: Jimi Hendrix
Recorded at: Studio 76, New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: October? December? 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
"Audience": Jimi Hendrix & unknown others
Tambourine: Curtis Knight?
Guitars: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: unknown
Drums: unknown

The original RSVP single label gives composer credit for "Welcome Home" solely to Curtis Knight, but the bmi.com database gives co-credit to Dick Glass. Who actually wrote this track is open to discussion, the track is musically a practically direct copy of a song called "You Messed up a Good Thing".

"You Messed up a Good Thing" was composed by Oliver Sain, the original recording by Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure was released in January 1965 on Checker 1097 coupled with "Baby What You Want Me to Do" (the same Jimmy Reed song that the Squires played live). The 45 was advertised in the 23 January 1965 issue of Billboard and reviewed in the "Singles Reviews" -section in the category "Rhythm & Blues Spotlights". The exact recording date of the Curtis Knight version is unknown but the RSVP single "How Would You Feel" (with "Welcome Home" on the b-side) was released in April 1966, circa 15 months later.

Listen to "You Messed up a Good Thing" on YouTube.

Exactly what role Dick Glass played in the making of "Welcome Home" is unclear but it probably would have been merely assisting Curtis Knight with the putting together of the song, it's probable that most of the musical & lyrical content came from Knight. It doesn't seem very likely that Dick Glass, a folk artist, would have first recycled "You Messed up a Good Thing" and then given the writing credit for the track to Curtis Knight. But as Dick Glass passed away in 1992 we'll unfortunately probably never find out what his exact involvement with "Welcome Home" was.

Simon Says
Composer(s): Curtis Knight?
Producer: Ed Chalpin
Recorded at: Studio 76, New York City
Engineer: unknown
Date: December? 1965
Vocals: Curtis Knight
Guitars: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: unknown
Drums: unknown
Sax: Unknown

This track has a very nice rhythm track with three guitar parts by Jimi. The horn part could have been done by Lonnie Youngblood but it's unlikely as he probably didn't join the Squires until 1966 and doesn't seem to have participated in any studio sessions, this track is the only Squires recording that features horns. Note that most mixes of this track have the sax part removed.