New Orleans R&B/funk/soul veteran Jean Knight, best known for her 1971 Stax Records hit “Mr. Big Stuff,” has passed away at age 80. Her longtime friend Bernie Cyrus confirmed the news to Rolling Stone:
“She was the first person we appointed on the board when we took took it over and we had a long relationship with her and she was just fabulous,” Bernie Cyrus, who served as the executive director of the Louisiana Music Commission for two decades, says. “She was always willing to get involved with good causes and help out.”
“’Mr. Big Stuff’ — it was just so universal. People remember it. And look, so many people covered it. But nobody did it like Jean,” Cyrus adds.
Read more at RS. Rest in peace, Jean.