MUSIC SCENE
McKnight happy as musical messenger
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Inspired by his brother's musical success, Brian McKnight has built a decade-long career as a singer, songwriter, producer and arranger. Not only is he nominated for five Grammy awards this year, but his compositions have been covered by artists in genres ranging from R&B to country.
Brian McKnight 8 p.m. today Hawaii Ballroom, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel $25, $35 526-4400 |
Yes, he's been nominated a handful of times in his 10 years in the industry, and that's all well and good. But Mc-Knight wants to take home one of those little gold victrolas this year. And with a career-high five nominations — four of these for tracks from his latest CD "Superhero" — he thinks he has a pretty good shot come Grammys night, Feb. 27.
Of course, he thought that last year, too, when he was nominated for four Grammys.
"It feels great, more than anything, after all this time, to still be recognized and be in the same categories as people like Eric Clapton and Elton John," said McKnight from Nashville, Tenn. "Win or lose, that's pretty amazing. And, yes, hopefully with that many nominations this year, there's a strong possibility I could get one and people would get off my back about not having one." McKnight laughed hard.
McKnight's Grammy nods this year include Best Male Pop Vocal for "Still," Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "My Kind of Girl" (a duet with 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake), Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life," and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for "Win," from the film "Men of Honor."
"So yeah, I'm goin', I'm goin'," said McKnight, feigning lack of interest. "I go every year and sit through it, you know. And this year won't be any different."
In Nashville for a concert and to whip older brother and Take 6 vocalist Claude McKnight in more than a few games of one-on-one, McKnight, 32, reflected on "Superhero," and his decade-long career.
" 'Superhero' is my favorite album because it's really the closest thing I've done to the real me," McKnight said. "I put all of the things I'm into on it. Every style from jazz to rock to pop to R&B to inspirational. I mean, how many people would put Justin Timberlake, Nate Dogg, (gospel legend) Fred Hammond and Brian McKnight all on one album?"
Not many, we're guessing. But McKnight — who, in addition to his considerable vocalese, is an accomplished songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist — has never sought out easy categorizing in an industry that practically demands it.
"As a songwriter, you want to get the message of your music to the greatest number of people you possibly can," McKnight said. "A great song is a song that can be produced any kind of way. A song that goes from pop to R&B to country and back and forth is a great song. At the end of the day, that beats everything."
Since 1991's No. 13 pop hit "One Last Cry," regularly notching his own recordings on the Billboard pop and R&B charts, McKnight has also seen his compositions covered by artists as diverse as Alicia Keys, Johnny Mathis, Take 6 and George Benson. In 2000, country star Mark Willis charted a Top 10 country hit with "Back At One," already a proven pop and R&B smash for McKnight. A cover of McKnight's Grammy-nominated ballad "Still" was recently recorded by burgeoning country group The Marie Girls.
By his estimate, a composer of more than 200 songs a year, it's no surprise McKnight considers himself a songwriter first.
"That's because when I hear a song that I loved when I was a kid, I may not know who sang it, but I know every word of the song," McKnight said. "That's a tribute to the songwriter. To me, singers come and go. But songs are the things that last forever."
Songwriting was actually the last talent McKnight picked up while growing up.
"Singing was first," said McKnight, recalling singing with his family in the church choir that his grandfather led. "When you grow up in my family, you just sing. You don't really have a choice. Your mother says, 'Get up and sing,' and so you get up and sing." McKnight cracked up again.
Musical instruments came next, starting with the trumpet.
"I wanted to be Miles Davis and I wanted to play like Miles Davis," Mc-Knight said. "And when I found Wynton Marsalis, I wanted to play like him. Once I realized that I would never have those kind of jobs, I picked up everything else." For those keeping score, that includes the piano, bass, guitar, drums and percussion, among others.
Inspired by brother Claude's success with Take 6, McKnight began composing instrumentals at age 15, securing a music publishing deal and sending out demos while a freshman at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala.
"When I sent my demos out, I was looking to become a songwriter," Mc-Knight said. "When the record companies and publishing companies started asking me who was singing on the demos, that's when being an artist sort of came to light."
Signed to Mercury Records in 1991, McKnight has since recorded six albums, including 1997's 2-million-selling "Anytime" and 1999's 4-million-selling "Back At One." His highest charting pop singles include 1993's No. 3 "Love Is" (a duet with Vanessa Williams); 1997's No. 10 "Anytime"; and 1999's "Back At One," No. 2 for Billboard's Hot 100 for eight weeks. McKnight now records for Motown Records.
"I am absolutely surprised that a whole decade has gone by," said Mc-Knight, asked to reflect on the longevity of his recording career. "You see so many people come and go. And the hardest thing to do in this business is maintain where you're at. I think I've gotten a little better each time out, but my whole life is really just one day at a time.
"I can't really think, 'Well, in three months I'm going to be here,' or 'In five months I want to be there.' I just keep my head down kind of like the groundhog, come out and see if I can see my shadow." McKnight paused to laugh again. "If I don't, I go back to work."
