He was born June 5 1969, in Buffalo, New York, USA. The younger brother of Claude V. McKnight of a cappella gospel outfit Take 6, R&B singer Brian McKnight began his musical career in and around Buffalo, performing self-written material with his own band. Attracting the attention of Mercury Records, he recorded a self-titled debut set which reached the Top 20 of the US R&B album chart, although its sales returns were modest. "Love Is", a duet with Vanessa Williams taken from the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, crossed over to the pop charts, reaching number 3 in May 1993. Another single, "One Last Cry", climbed to number 13 later in the year. His second effort, I Remember You, sold more than half a million copies and included five Top 20 R&B singles. With his reputation and image established, Mercury decided to pull out all the stops for his third album, the immaculately produced Anytime. Involved in its creation were star names such as Sean "Puffy" Combs (production), Ma$e (rapping) and Mary J. Blige and Diane Warren (songwriting). The first single to be taken from the album, the US number 17 hit "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)", featured Ma$e, in an attempt to convert sections of the hip-hop audience to McKnight's work and expand his growing fanbase. However, the single was hardly representative of the mature R&B and romantic balladry that comprised much of the album's contents, which is where McKnight's true talent lies. Anytime was rewarded with a US Top 20 chart placing. McKnight switched to Motown Records for the Christmas album, Bethlehem. The highly successful Back At One followed. The title track spent several weeks at number 2 on the US Hot 100 chart.

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