一聽音樂網

Brian McKnight出生于1969年6月5日,美國紐約州的布法羅.
他成長于一個音樂世家,全家都是當地教堂唱詩班的成員.他的祖父是指揮.在這種宗教信仰的熏陶下,McKnight還從中了解到了其他音樂知識. 在他很小的時候就開始嘗試著寫一些簡單的曲子.很快,他組織了自己的樂隊并且在本地開始演出.18歲的時候,McKnight獲得了出唱片的機會.他加入了有他哥哥Claude在內的Take 6樂團,并和一家唱片公司簽定了合同.在推出了相當數量的DEMO之后,McKnight吸引了Mercury Records總裁Ed Eckstine 的目光. Eckstine很欣賞McKnight的嗓音,并且在兩個禮拜之內月他簽定了合同.他在這家唱片公司錄制了他的第一個自己命名的個人專輯,這就是這里的這張Brian McKnight.
盡管這張唱片收到的利潤回報一般,但這張唱片進入了美國藍調音樂專輯排行榜的前20名.該唱片中收錄的Love Is取自電視連續劇Beverly Hills, 90210,是與Vanessa Williams合作的二重唱,這首歌闖入了流行歌曲的排行榜,并在1993年5月份上升到了第3名.另外一支單曲One Last Cry也在當年上升到了排行榜的第13位.

Fans who care enough to time-travel back to Brian McKnight's self-titled 1992 debut will find that, in the beginning, it was all about amore; the smooth R&B lothario's later hip-hop and jazz leanings seem a long way off. "These songs were written by a young man who grew up in the '70s and '80s," the still-humble balladeer writes in the liner notes. "The music represents those influences on my life and times." Thus, Brian McKnight is best thought of as a shiny, pleasingly rangy Babyface record, or else an escape hatch for soul-leaning record buyers on the brink of boredom with Boyz II Men (they also happened to be on the brink of a worthy new discovery). This 13-song set plays pleasingly and seductively the full way through, with "The Way Loves Goes" and "One Last Cry" best displaying the artist's trademark vocal magic. The final two tracks are given over to McKnight's still sturdy spiritual amore--"Oh Lord" and "My Prayer," steeped in passion, land on the ears like a little slices of heaven. -Tammy La Gorce