Biography

James Knight, was born , in Miami , Florida is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as the frontman for, James Knight & the Fabulous Butlers a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, heavy funk and soft rock in the 1970's. James Knight & the fabulous Butlers was started in Miami, Florida and eventually had artists from around the South Florida Area. At age 2 , James started to play drums and around the age of 6, James began to play and perform in his first calypso band. at the age of fourteen he began to pick up the guitar that his younger brother Leslie Lewis had purchase from a music store in the downtown area of Miami. By the time he (Billy James Lewis aka James Knight ) was 15 years old he began to play guitar for artists like Sam & Dave ,Betty Wright ,Clarence Reed , Gwen McCray, Franky Beverly ( of the group Maze) and Ben E. King, and list goes on. At 19 years old James Knight desided to travel a different past to stardem he then form the group name the Butlers ( James Knight & the Butlers ) and began to travel from Miami , Florida to Northern Canada and the Newfoundlands. James Knight became a over nite sucess doing concerts with performers such as John Lee Hooker ,The Chamber Brothers,The Persuaders ,Muddy Waters , James Brown , Joe Simon and Joe Tex ,etc,. James Knight recorded the album the " BLACK KNIGHT " in 1970"s which wasnt's release in that era because he (James Knight) was told by T K Productions recording Studio that he was ahead of his time like 20 years ahead of his time so the album the "Black Knight" was never release until now. James Knight was a singer/guitarist who really barks it out there. They had a live sound and Knight was their frontman.
It’s a gritty, hard, southern soul sound that peaked just before the disco invasion.
Apparently, James Knight & the Butlers only made this one album (The Black Knight) in the early seventies and then went on to other things. Sounds a little like James Brown; and a lot like Sly Stone , The Barkay's and Archie Bell and the Drells. James Knight & the Butlers was one of South Florida top bands of that era and there group performance was a site to see.