(Decca) Chris Knight was born and raised in Slaughters, Kentucky. a tiny coal mining town of about 200, a place he still lives today in a trailer on 40 wooded acres. He grew up listening to country and rock by way of The Johnny Cash Show on TV, the car radio during road trips to visit relatives, and his aunt's record collection. When he was 15, Chris' oldest brother had bought a guitar, and since he was working the second shift at the mine, Chris "borrowed" the guitar and chord book while his brother worked, and taught himself to play. He soon had learned to play 50 John Prine songs, and then began writing his own. In 1989, he graduated Western Kentucky University and became a strip mine inspector for the state. However, the whole time he continued writing songs. Something inside him told him he could make a living with his songs and in 1991, he headed for Nashville with his songs in hand.

Chris didn't head to Nashville with the dream of becoming a "singing sensation," but rather a songwriter. He knew his songs were different, and they'd be a tough sell, but he believed in them. In 1992, he performed at an open mike night at the Bluebird Cafe, where publishing executive Frank Liddel, who worked with such artists as Kim Richey and Jim Lauderdale, just happened to have been in the audience. Liddel was floored by Chris' songs, and encouraged him to keep returning to Nashville. Eventually Liddel offered Chris a publishing deal with Bluewater Music. Liddel also told Chris he had to record his own songs. Chris never considered the performing aspect, but soon realized Liddel was right. When Liddel took an A&R job at Decca, he quickly signed Chris to the label, and co-produced his 1998 self titled debut.

Reaction to this album was astounding, the album was heralded as nothing short of brilliant, and Chris was being compared to everyone from John Prine and Steve Earle to Neil Young. Chris is a master storyteller, and his songs are stark, gritty, stunningly honest, and punctuated with dark humor. This led to a marketing problem. Given mainstream country radio's decidedly fluffy, slick and pop leaning playlists, Chris' songs scared off the radio programmers. So Decca decided to market him to the alternative and AAA stations, where he was welcomed with open arms. Chris Knight remained #1 on the Americana charts for a record setting 7 weeks. He began touring both solo and as opening act for artists like Robert Earl Keen and Allison Krauss. But his biggest triumph was a series of dates opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Each night, Chris and his accompanist took the stage with just two acoustic guitars before an audience of thousands of beer fueled fans screaming for "Freebird." And each night, Chris and his songs stunned the audience into complete silence as he captivated them with his songs. Chris looks back fondly at those particular shows saying, "It was really gratifying. You just get out there and do what you do. And if you can get them to quiet down and pay attention, it validates everything."

Chris Knight opens with the bitter taste of "It Ain't Easy Being Me," a man berating himself over every wrong turn he's ever made that has landed him in 'Sorryville.'  The rocking "Framed" is the tale of a man that kills his wife's lover, but refuses to admit he was the guilty party, and refuses to hang his head in shame for what he'd done. He writes tales about farming and the hard uphill battles to hold onto the land in "Bring The Harvest Home," "The River's Own," and the stark and poignant "House And 40 Acres," about a man left with 2 kids after his wife runs off with another man, and fighting with everything he has to keep his farm from being repossessed.