Evelyn Knight

Evelyn Knight (b. December 31, 1917, Reedville, Virginia – d. September 28, 2007, San Jose, California). American singer of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1948, she recorded “A Little Bird Told Me” with The Stardusters, which was #1 for seven weeks and stayed on the charts for five months. Later that year she recorded “Powder Your Face with Sunshine”; that also hit #1 and remained on the charts well into the following year. She was raised originally on Virginia's Northern Neck but following her father's 1926 death relocated with her mother to Arlington. While still in high school Evelyn started her professional career in high school when she would sing at Washington D.C.’s Station WRC as “Honey Davis” twice a week over NBC for $16 a broadcast. She married at 17 to "Washington Post" war photographer Andrew B. Knight. She spent the next years refining her craft at Washington's top night spots. After many successful years in Washington she moved to New York City where she began headlining at such Manhattan nightclubs as The Blue Angel and the Plaza Hotel’s Persian Room. She launched her recording career in 1945 by signing with Decca records, and moved to Los Angeles in the late 1940s where she headlined frequently at the celebrity-studded Ciro’s and Coconut Grove. Moved to New York City and cut her first records for Decca, her debut single "Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)" reaching the top 10. Heading west to Los Angeles she drew large crowds and rave reviews at Ciro's and the Cocoanut Grove, had a 1948 hit with "Buttons and Bows", and in 1949 saw "A Little Bird Told Me" and "Powder Your Face with Sunshine" both reach #1. Over the next few years Evelyn toured the country, appearing at the premier nightclubs of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and elsewhere, sang for Harry S. Truman at the White House, partnered with such artists as Harry S. Truman and Bing Crosby, and became a regular on "The Colgate Comedy Hour", " Ed Sullivan Show", and other pioneering television variety programs. She last hit the recording charts in 1951 with "My Heart Cries for You", a duet with country legend Red Foley. Having divorced Knight, Evelyn married songwriter Johnny Lehmann (deceased 2000) in 1954 and as torch singing was giving way to rock-and-roll she chose to retire while still in top form and never sang professionally again. Though she was one of the original 1,500 honorees on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 she did not learn of the distinction until somewhat later; moving to Phoenix in 1967 she worked as a property manager and as a babysitter and while she sang in her church's choir few if any of her associates knew of her past time in the limelight. In 2007 her terminal illness necessitated a final move to her daughter's home in San Jose. Evelyn died of lung cancer.