Chester Knight facts for kids
Chester Knight is a talented Canadian folk singer and songwriter. He comes from Saskatchewan, a province in Canada. He is well-known for his album Falling Down, which came out in 1999. This album won a special award called the Juno Award for Best Aboriginal Recording at the Juno Awards of 2000.
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About Chester Knight
Chester Knight is a Cree musician. The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations people in Canada. Chester Knight grew up in the Muskoday First Nation, which is a community near Prince Albert.
Besides making music, he also worked as a counsellor at a college. This college was first called the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College and is now known as the First Nations University of Canada in Saskatoon.
Chester Knight is also the uncle of another musician named Eekwol.
Musical Journey
Chester Knight started his music career leading a band called Chester Knight and the Wind. He was the main member who was always in the band. Other musicians, including his brother Vernon Knight, played with him over the years.
Early Albums and Awards
In 1996, his band released their first album, Freedom. This album was considered for the Best Aboriginal Recording award at the Juno Awards of 1997.
His next album, Falling Down, came out in 1999. This album was a big success! It won the Juno Award, a Prairie Music Award, and an Aboriginal Music Award. The next year, Falling Down was also released in the United States under a different name, Windfall.
Solo Work and More Recognition
In 2002, Chester Knight released an album called Standing Strong. This time, he released it as a solo artist, even though he still toured with his band. Many other musicians helped him on this album.
Standing Strong was also nominated for a Juno Award in 2003. That same year, Chester Knight won the Songwriter of the Year award at the Aboriginal Music Awards for his song "Cochise Was a Warrior". In 2004, his music video for "Love Fades Away" won an award at the American Indian Film Festival.
Recent Music
Later, Chester Knight's sons, Lancelot and Daniel, joined his band. They planned a new album, but it wasn't released. However, Chester Knight continued to perform at music festivals in Western Canada.
In 2013, he released a song called "Idle No More (Tomahawk)". This song was inspired by the Idle No More movement, which is an activist movement. This was his first new song since Standing Strong. He then released another song, "Indian Girl", in 2015.
