An Interview With DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight

Feature Photo by C. Brandon

As a young gun on the jazz scene, DeWayne ‘Blackbyrd’ McKnight worked with giants, such as Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock, Alphonso Johnson, and Sonny Rollins. If that were the end of the story, McKnight’s legacy would be cemented… but it’s not.

By the mid ‘70s, McKnight dreamed of merging genres, which he did with George Clinton’s P-Funk ensemble. He’s stuck since, playing beside everyone from Michael Hampton to Eddie Hazel to Bootsy Collins, and more.

As for what it was like integrating into the wild and crazy P-Funk machine at the height of its zanier-than-zany powers, McKnight says that it was easy enough musically, but a learning curve elsewhere. “They were the most understanding group of people, putting up with a personality such as mine,” McKnight tells ClassicRockHistory.com. “I’ll leave it there. [laughs]”

In the years since, McKnight has hooked up with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Miles Davis, while continuing his work with George Clinton and P-Funk. As for what’s made his friendship with Clinton stick, McKnight says, “Music, friendship, and enduring the test of time!”

He explains, “George and I have become very good friends over the years and do share a musical history with ups and downs, ins and outs, just like any family does. As long as he’s making music on this planet and there’s a place for me to fit, I’m in.”

McKnight has no plans to stop. What’s more, he hopes to release new music sometime soon. Regardless of when that happens, it’s all gravy, as the 71-year-old guitarist accomplished what he set out to do.

“In my journey through this life,” he says. “I have achieved the three goals that I set for myself: to play with Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, and Parliament/Funkadelic. I was happy to have completed those goals, and now it is time to go forward with new ones.”

What are your earliest memories of music in your life?

My earliest memories are lying in my crib and listening to my father’s record collection, which included jazz, big band, rhythm and blues, etc. I remember listening to Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Modern Jazz Quartet, Chico Hamilton, Django Reinhardt, James Moody, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, The McGuire Sisters, Jim Hall, George Benson, B.B. King, The Kingston Trio, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz, shall I go on? [laugh]

What drew you to the guitar, and when did you decide what sort of player you wanted to be?

What drew me to the guitar was my Uncle LG from Fresno, CA. He had an acoustic guitar in his house, and the way my father told me, I would always gravitate to that guitar and start fiddling with it. Finally, one day, my uncle gave me that guitar, and that was the beginning of my association with the guitar.

Once I got it back home, I started spending much more time with it. I started learning tunes like “Gloria,” “Secret Agent Man”, “Soul Man,” and “Windy”. At that point, I decided playing guitar was what I wanted to do. Because my father had records in different genres, I started playing anything I could pick up on, which included jazz, pop, and whatever was popular at that time.

Then came rock. I was listening to my local radio station one day and heard a guitar like I never heard before. I learned the song was “Foxy Lady” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Later, I bought the album Are You Experienced, and that was it. I loved a lot of different music back then, but to me Hendrix’s music and the rock genre grabbed me the most out of what I heard.

How did the scene you grew up in affect you as a player?

On the street I grew up on, if you walked on the main street, there were nightclubs on almost every block. In those days, bands had week-long or more engagements, and some were house bands. There were a lot of very popular local musicians in that period. I listened to bands rehearsing in the daytime, walking home from school.

I was too young to go into the clubs at night, so I acted like I was going to the store to buy candy, stood outside the club, and listened for as long as I could. Hoping one day to perform in those clubs. In those days, my neighborhood was a perfect environment to grow up in, as music was everywhere.

Tell us about one of your earliest gigs, which took place at the Lighthouse Café with Charles Lloyd in 1972.

That took place at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA. I had already been doing some jamming with his bassist and drummer: Sherman ‘Songhouse’ McKinny III on bass and Woodrow “Sonship” Theus on drums. Of the many recordings we did, Sonship made a tape and told us he was going to present it to Mr. Lloyd.

He did, Charles liked what he heard, and asked me to come to the Lighthouse to sit in on a song. I believe the song I sat in on was “Sombrero Sam”. After that, I got a call from the guys who told me that Mr. Lloyd would like me to go on the road with them and see how it would go. That was my first road trip. That sit in session was the beginning of my professional music career.

What led to your officially working with Charles Lloyd?

I believe it was around 1970. After being in a band with Songhouse in Newport, RI (that’s a whole other story), I moved back to Los Angeles. A short time after that, Songhouse would move back to LA, too. He, at that time, was playing with Woody ‘Sonship’ Theus, who changed his name to Transcending Sonship of Rhythm Sound and Color.

The drum and bass duo both played with Charles Lloyd in that period. Songhouse asked me if I would like to jam with him and Sonship, who was at that time the most talked-about drummer known to me, so naturally I said yes. The three of us got together and jammed. Playing with Songhouse and Sonship was like magic.

We dove deep, soared high, and grooved like we were a band and knew each other for years. It was quite unbelievable but true. So, the jams turned into what we called gatherings because they happened quite often. Musicians from all over the city would come and jam with us. The gatherings with Songhouse and Sonship took my guitar playing to another level and brought me the opportunity to work with Mr. Lloyd.

And how about Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins?

At the time, I was working with Charles Lloyd, and I believe we were to play Kansas City. We stayed in a hotel outside of the city, and it just so happened that both the Herbie Hancock and Charles Lloyd bands were staying at the same hotel. There were no stores or shopping plazas nearby, so I needed to go into the city.

I asked the front desk clerk for a taxi. She called me back and said that another gentleman would like to go into the city and wanted to know if I wouldn’t mind sharing the taxi ride. So, the taxi arrived, the gentleman came down, and lo and behold, it was Bennie Maupin: my favorite reedman at the time.

So, we took the taxi into the city and had a really great conversation. When we exited the taxi, Bennie looked at me and said, “You and I are going to play in a band together someday. You just watch and see.” That taxi ride changed my life, as for the next year or so, I’d go out to Bennie‘s house often. He had me work on his music with him, and I learned a lot.

He was very patient, and I enjoyed the experience. As time went on, I got a call from him saying that he wanted me to go to Oakland with him to jam with some guys. Those guys turned out to be Paul Jackson and Michael Clark: part of the Rhythm section of the Herbie Hancock Headhunters band.

The jam went well, and the rest, as they say, is history, as The Headhunters, including myself, were signed to Arista Records. Later on, I got a call from Benny telling me Sonny Rollins was looking for a guitar player for his upcoming album, and I accepted.

You worked on an underrated record by Alfonso Johnson called Moonshadows in the mid ‘70s. What’s the story there?

Funny thing… I don’t know who contacted me about the Alfonso Johnson session. What I remember was going into the studio in Hollywood, and upon arriving, I noticed two guitarists already in session, working on another song. I learned a little later that those two guys were Lee Ritenour and David Amaro: two studio giants.

I thought to myself, “What the hell am I doing here with these two cats?” It was a great thing for me to watch those two dudes do their magic in the studio. I performed on one song. The session went rather quickly. I believe Skip Drinkwater and Alfonso did the producing. That’s about all I remember about that session.

After all that work in the jazz field, what do you think made you stand out to George Clinton, leading you to work with P-Funk?

In my musical journey, I like many different types of music. Part of my dream was to blend all of these elements I was picking up on and fuse them into a band like P-Funk. George has an understanding of the fusion of music, and I think he could see where I was going and what I was bringing to the table. All that to say, after all these years from the beginning to the present, I would hope that something rubbed off on George.

What can you say about working with P-Fun’s other guitar players, like Michael Hampton and Eddie Hazel?

I would have to say that finally getting to see one of my favorite bands of life on stage and later on getting to play music with them was simply heaven! Not only Mike and Eddie, but Bernie Worrell, Junie Morrison, Gary Shider, Boogie Mosson, and not to mention the rest of the group, who were all top-notch in their field. Without a doubt, one of the most bad-ass bands I’ve ever played with.

In the ‘80s, you worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. How did that come about?

I probably met Flea from hanging out in the Hollywood scene, playing with Trulio Disgracias. He started coming by my house, and we jammed… the good old days! That’s how we became friends. Later on, Flea told me there was a situation with the guitar in the Red Hot Chili Peppers band and asked me if I would like to give it a try. He came by my house with albums and videos, asking me to learn these songs to play with the Chili Peppers. I learned the songs, and the rest is history.

Why didn’t that work out, and how do you view that period upon reflection?

In the words of Anthony Keidis: “Blackbyrd is one of the baddest walking on the planet but not for the Peppers.” Let’s leave it at that!

You also got to work with Miles Davis in the ‘80s. How did that happen, and what did it mean to you?

I got a call from Miles Davis’s manager, who told me Miles was going to call me in a while. A short time later, Miles called and asked me to send him a tape with me playing on it. I did, and later on, Miles called me back and told me, “If you sound anything like that tape, you got the gig.”

I didn’t know how they got my name until I had a conversation with Dennis Chambers. He told me he was sitting at a table with Miles and playing a tape. Miles asked him who the guitar player was. Dennis gave him a couple of names, and mine was among them. This, as told to me by Dennis, is how the connection was made, I believe.

Catch us up on what you’re doing now and what’s next for you.

Still doing the damn thang: to fly with my own wings, and to still contribute when and wherever I am needed. I have a lot of music I’ve recorded over the years that I want to release, no matter how old or new it is. That is only one of the goals for the future—more goals to follow.

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