MARIE KNIGHT
Singer Marie Knight, who grew up in Newark, was best known for her long association with the great gospel singer and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. But she also made some standout R&B and gospel records on her own from the ’40s to the ’70s, including a ferociously rocking single with an unwieldy name — “I Thought I Told You Not to Tell Them” — in 1958. Check it out below.
In the ’80s and ’90s, Knight didn’t perform much, working primarily as a minister in Harlem. But she made a bit of a comeback in the 2000s, appearing on the 2003 Tharpe tribute album, Shout, Sister, Shout, and then releasing a well-received album of her own, Let Us Get Together, in 2007.
She died in 2009, at the age of 84.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday in 2014. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, from September 2014 to September 2015 — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. To see the entire list, click here.
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