Marie Knight was born Marie Roach in 1920, though she claimed to have been born in 1925.
12 Facts About Marie Knight
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Marie Knight's father was a construction worker and the family were members of the Church of God in Christ.
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Marie Knight first toured as a singer in 1939 with Frances Robinson, an evangelist.
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Marie Knight married preacher Albert Knight in 1941 but the union ended in divorce.
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In 1946, Marie Knight made her first recordings, for Haven Records with the masters soon purchased by Signature Records, as a member of The Sunset Four.
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Shortly afterwards, Sister Rosetta Tharpe saw her singing at the Golden Gate Auditorium in Harlem, on a bill with Mahalia Jackson, and invited Marie Knight to join her on tour.
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Marie Knight continued to record and perform with Tharpe through the 1940s, sometimes acting out the parts of "the Saint and the Sinner", with Tharpe as the saint and Knight as the sinner.
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Marie Knight left Tharpe to go solo around 1951, and put together a backing group, The Millionaires, with whom she recorded the 1956 album Songs of the Gospel.
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Marie Knight toured with Brook Benton, the Drifters, and Clyde McPhatter, and regularly reunited onstage with Tharpe.
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Marie Knight remained friends with Tharpe, and helped arrange her funeral in 1973.
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In 2002, Marie Knight made a comeback in the gospel world, recording for a tribute album to Tharpe.
12.
Marie Knight released a full-length album, Let us get together, on her manager's label in 2007.