Her birth name was Jean Caliste. She adopted the professional name of Jean Knight because she felt that "Caliste" was too hard to pronounce.
In the mid-'60s, she recorded four singles for the Jet Star/Tribe labels which were owned by Huey Meaux. The songs were popular locally but not nationally. By the late sixties, it was obvious that Knight's singing career was not going to live up to the expectations that she had. Shortly thereafter, she went to work as a baker in the cafeteria of Loyola University.
Around 1970, while singing was just a hobby for Knight, she was discovered by a songwriter named Ralph Williams, who wanted her to record some songs. With Williams' connections, she came in touch with a music producer named Wardell Quezerque. One of the songs, which was co-written by Williams and produced by Quezerque, would eventually become Knight's biggest smash hit - "Mr. Big Stuff."
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