Mr. Big Stuff singer Jean Knight has died at the age of 80 due to natural causes: ‘We say goodbye to this iconic soul stress’

According to her publicist, Mr. Big Stuff singer Jean Knight died of natural causes at the age of 80.

The R&B and soul singer’s death was initially reported by the veteran New Orleans broadcaster L.B.Jwho posted a press release from her family last Wednesday that was subsequently confirmed by TMZ.

“Jean Knight’s legacy is not just musical; it is a testament to the enduring love between an artist, her hometown and the fans who adored her,” her family said in a statement. “As we say goodbye to this iconic soulstress, New Orleans and her global fanbase come together in gratitude for the indelible mark she left on the world.”

Other singles Knight released in her career included Carry On, Do Me, My Toot Toot, Helping Man, Jesse Joe (You Got to Go) and You Think You’re Hot Stuff.

Knight is best known for her song Mr. 1971’s Big Stuff, which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart upon release and spent another five weeks at number one on the Billboard Soul Singles chart.

Knight’s family pointed to her vaunted career in their statement, noting her stints at JetStream Records, Stax Records and eventually her own record label called Comstar.

The family said they “kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time and express their sincere gratitude for the love and support of fans.”

Mr. Big Stuff, the New Orleans singer’s catchy song, has been an important part of other media such as TV, film and other songs through sampling.

Productions using the song include black-ish, Everwood, Family Guy, The Deuce, Semi-Pro and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Musical artists who have sampled or remixed the song include Queen Latifah, John Legend, the Beastie Boys, TLC, Eazy-E, Heavy D & The Boyz, Everclear and Girl Talk. The track was also covered by artists such as Precious Metal and Lyn Collins.

Knight was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame in October 2007 at an event in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

According to an LMHOF biography, the artist, whose real name is Jean Caliste, initially broke into music when her first husband convinced her to record a demo tape at the J&M Studio in 1965. Among the songs she performed was a cover of Jackie Wilson’s Stop Doggin’ Me Around.

Texas-based producer Huey Meaux was present while working with a separate artist and was impressed with Knight, who signed her to a recording contract.

Knight was working as a baker at Loyola University in New Orleans when “a stranger approached her to say he had written some songs that producer Wardell Quezergue wanted her to sing,” according to the LMHOF.

She traveled to the Malaco Studio in Jackson, Mississippi, where she first heard a recording of Mr. BigStuff. She wanted to make changes to the song, a ballad that she hoped to “brighten up.”

One of the song’s writers, Joe Broussard, told Knight to sing the song “the way she felt it,” and she delivered the final version “on her second recording,” according to the LMHOF.

Memphis-based Stax Records eventually picked up the song Mr. Big Stuff and released it, which was “a sensation in the Washington and New York markets” in May 1971 and eventually entered the Billboard charts. It stayed on the charts for sixteen weeks and went on to sell more than three million copies, according to the LMHOF.

Knight received a 1972 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for the song, but the late Aretha Franklin would claim the honor for Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Her work with Stax ended in 1973 amid professional clashes between the label and Quezergue.

Knight said in a 2002 interview about royalties for the hit, “Mr. Big Stuff is better for me now than it was thirty-one years ago. All I have to do is sit at home and wait for the postman.’

Knight returned to the charts in the 1980s with a pair of singles: 1981’s You Think You’re Hot Stuff, which sold over 900,000 copies; and her 1985 cover of Rockin’ Sidney’s My Toot Toot, which sold more than 850,000 editions.

The soundtrack to the 2007 Jonah Hill film Superbad featured her 1990 song Do Me.

Bernie Cyrus, Knight’s friend and former executive director of the Louisiana Music Commission, said Rolling stone On Sunday, the singer was “the first person we appointed to the board when we took over and we had a long relationship with her and she was just fantastic.

‘She was always willing to volunteer for charities and help out.’

He told the outlet of her signature hit, “Mr. Big Stuff – it was just so universal. People remember it. And look, so many people have discussed it. But no one did it as well as Jean.”

A number of the singer’s fans mourned her death on Twitter on Sunday.

One user said: ‘RIP Jean Knight, prayers for her family. Thank you for this classic.’

Another said: ‘RIP Jean Knight. Mr Big Stuff is an absolute classic.’

One user said: ‘My entire childhood is passing away. RIP Jean Ridder!’

Some fans pointed out the enduring value of her biggest hit in remixed and sampled songs.

“Without this song we wouldn’t have Who Do We Think We Are by John Legend, so thank you, Ms. Jean Knight,” one user said click here for more

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