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Brian McKnight (born on June 5, 1969 in Buffalo, New York) is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, pop and R&B musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who can play nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, French horn and trumpet.
McKnight's musical career began with a musical childhood, in which he was a member of a Seventh-day Adventist Church choir and a band leader in high school at Sweet Home High School in Amherst, NY. Encouraged by his older brother Claude's band, Take 6, getting a record deal, McKnight sent out demo tapes and, at the age of 19, signed his first recording deal with Mercury Records. He released his first album, Brian McKnight, in 1992. He went on to release three more albums for Mercury records before moving to Motown Records. His final album with Mercury Records, Anytime sold over two million copies and was nominated for a Grammy.
In 1999, McKnight released Back at One (his second release from Motown; after the Christmas album Bethlehem) which sold over three million copies. Throughout his career he has collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ma$e, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Vanessa Williams, Kirk Franklin, For Real, Canibus, Quincy Jones, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, Shoshana Bean, St.Lunatics, and Mariah Carey.
McKnight is divorced and has two sons and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Brian currently hosts a radio show, The Brian McKnight Morning Show with Pat Prescott on KTWV The Wave in Los Angeles, CA.
The show is also simulcasted on KHJZ-FM, Smooth Jazz 95.7 The Wave in Houston, TX from 6am-9am CST.
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Brian McKnight has mastered his voice like many others including Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, and Michael Jackson.[citation needed] Although it's never said that Brian took speech level singing or studied with Seth Riggs, he appears to have found a way to develop his mixed voice. He sings, like Vandross and many other artists, with no strain while going up into his higher notes (an example of which can be heard in "Back at One" when he sings "...into this lonely heart of mine...") The technique he uses to produce higher tones is not entirely falsetto; McKnight applies head voice with his falsetto so that it sounds stylistically different. Mcknight also has a strong voice projection and clear sound as he moves up in his singing range.
Brian McKnight has a four-octave range and is able to sustain his voice in higher registers. (The song "Love Of My Life" is entirely in falsetto and he hits an E5; which is beyond the range of most tenors.) The transition between his falsetto and head voice is also smoother than most singers.
A notable attribute to Mcknight's voice is his use of melisma. The way Mcknight controls his run is unlike any other artist. While most artists hit the notes of their runs through head movement Mcknight controls his runs with his mouth. Mcknight's jaw moves to each different note he hits.
Main article: Brian McKnight discography
Mercury releases
Motown releases
Warner Bros. Records releases
Mercury releases
Motown releases
Warner Bros. Records releases
