Jerry Knight was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 vocalist and bassist

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Along with Ray Parker Jr.

Ray Parker Jr.

Ray Erskine Parker, Jr. , is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer and recording artist. Parker is known for writing and performing the theme song to the motion picture Ghostbusters, for his solo hits, and performing with his band Raydio as well as the late Barry White.-Early life and...

, he was a founding member of the group Raydio

Raydio

Raydio was an American funk and R&B vocal group formed in 1977, by Ray Parker Jr., with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael.-Career:...

, singing vocals on their early hit

Hit record

A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

, "Jack and Jill". He then left to pursue a solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 career, releasing three solo album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s and achieving moderate success with minor hits such as "Overnight Sensation," "Perfect Fit" and "Turn It Out".

In 1983, Knight teamed with session

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

 drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Ollie E. Brown

Ollie E. Brown

Ollie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist and record producer. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'.....

 to form Ollie & Jerry

Ollie & Jerry

Ollie & Jerry was an American dance-pop duo active in the 1980s, consisting of drummer Ollie E. Brown and R&B singer Jerry Knight.Despite releasing no studio albums under their own name, they are still widely known for their hit single "Breakin'.....

. Together, they provided the title track

Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us

"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" is a dance-pop song by American music duo Ollie & Jerry. Released in 1984 as a single from the soundtrack to the film Breakin, the song reached No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It is the theme song to the film Breakin...

 to the soundtrack

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 to the 1984 movie

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 Breakin'

Breakin'

Breakin', released as Breakdance: The Movie in some countries, is a 1984 breakdancing-themed film directed by Joel Silberg. The film setting was inspired by a German documentary entitled Breakin' and Enterin set in the Los Angeles multi-racial hip hop club Radiotron, based out of Macarthur Park in...

, which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

. They also recorded the title track

Electric Boogaloo (song)

"Electric Boogaloo" is a dance-pop song by American music duo Ollie & Jerry. Released in late 1984 as the lead single from the soundtrack to the film Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, the song reached number 45 on the R&B chart.- Background :...

 for Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is the 1984 sequel to the breakdancing film Breakin. It was first released in the same year as its predecessor by TriStar Pictures, and by Cannon Films the year after...

, which got up to #45 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

R&B

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

. Although his solo career faded, Knight continued to write

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and produce

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 for acts such as The Whispers

The Whispers

The Whispers are a long-established R&B-dance vocal group from Los Angeles, California, with a consistent track record of hit records dating back to the late 1960s.-Career:...

, Patrice Rushen

Patrice Rushen

Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...

, DeBarge

DeBarge

DeBarge was a sibling music group of American origin whose repertoire included R&B, soul, funk, and later gospel. Active as a professional recording group from 1979 and 1989, the group was one of the few recording acts to bring success to the Motown label during the 1980s.-Background:Hailing from...

, Howard Hewett

Howard Hewett

Howard Hewett is an American R&B and gospel singer and former lead vocalist of the R&B group Shalamar.Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles. He would eventually meet Soul Train dancer and future first wife Rainey Riley-Cunningham, then a secretary of the show's creator and original...

 and Elkie Brooks

Elkie Brooks

Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...

.

Albums

• Jerry Knight (A&M Records
  A&M Records
  A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
  
  , 1980)
  • "Good Times"
  • "Monopoly"
  • "Overnight Sensation"
  • "Sweetest Love"
  • "Joy Ride"
  • "Let Me Be the Reason"
  • "Freek Show"
  • "Now That She's Rockin'"

• Perfect Fit (A&M Records, 1981)
  • "Easier to Run Away"
  • "Higher"
  • "Perfect Fit"
  • "Play Sista"
  • "Rainbow"
  • "Too Busy"
  • "Turn It Out"
  • "Twilight"

• Love's On Your Side (A&M Records, 1982)
  • "Beautiful"
  • "Brand New Fool"
  • "Do It All For You"
  • "Do You Really Mean It"
  • "Fire"
  • "I'm Down For That"
  • "Nothing Can Hold Us Back"
  • "She's Got to Be (A Dancer)"

Singles

Year	Title	U.S. R&B chart Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	U.S. Pop Chart Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
1980	"Overnight Sensation"	17	103
1980	"Joy Ride"	87	-
1981	"Perfect Fit"	16	-
1981	"Turn It Out"	65	-
1982	"She's Got to Be (A Dancer)"	71	-