byterian Church. He was a son of the late Charles and Rose Houchins Meredith and husband of the late Dorothy Bryant Meredith.

After an afternoon of chores, Madison Knight (standing) and Joel Knight relax on the porch of their house in rural Allen County. Despite the uniqueness of their lifestyle, their father, Chris Knight, and other family members have produced a CD of acoustic music. Photo by Clinton Lewis

SCOTTSVILLE John Christopher Knight believes the simple things in life are best time with his children, the peacefulness of nature, his wifes smile. Its a philosophy he acquired after an accident left him wounded and searching for answers. He began reading Scriptures and, after a lot of prayer with his wife, Laura, decided that he and his family needed to spend more time together. I wanted to be more involved in rearing my children, he said. Farm families work together. So Knight quit his 10-year job as a manufacturers representative, moved his family from their stylish home in Macon, Ga., and found land in rural Allen County. There, in the Mount Arial community, they built a farm that has no electricity, indoor plumbing, television or radio and began breeding award-winning border collies and farming. Their brood of children rose to nine. For 10 years, the family hasnt embraced technology, not even owning a car until recently. Now, Knight is releasing a CD of original songs, Way Down Inside, next week. Nobody can put a label on this, Knight said. Its got folksy lyrics, but its not really folk. Its not country. Folks say it sounds sincere, authentic and unique. So how does a man go from pickin out songs on his guitar on his front porch to recording a CD?It was all in his wifes smile, Knight said. Me and the wife are lacking a little in dental work, he said. The children are all caught up. We dont use insurance. We have filled our own teeth and done minor dental work, but things get complicated when youre talking about root canals and replacing teeth. Knight wrote some songs and began looking for someone else to sing them to make a little extra money so he and his wife could to go to the dentist. In the meantime, he met Greg Northcutt, a Calvert City attorney who shows dogs as a hobby. Northcutt and Knight began jamming while camping at dog shows. While we were camping at the trials, he and his boy were playing music, Northcutt said. So we started playing together. He knows the Lord and so do I, so thats a big common bond and we have gone to other dog trials together. Northcutt told Knight that if he ever wanted to record anything, he had a friend, Glenn Dossett, who had a recording studio in his home. It was an opportunity Knight couldnt pass up, especially when he found out his son, Justin Knight, would be going to Scotland for a few months to work. Justin Knight, 22, often plays guitar with his father. He just wanted something to remember his days playing with Justin, Northcutt said. So Northcutt, Dossett, Justin Knight, Chris Knight and his 17-year-old son, Prentice Knight, laid down their tracks separately at Dossetts home. Only one song needed a retake. Glenns studio is the size of half a bedroom, so we recorded one instrument at a time, Northcutt said, laughing. It took four hours. Chris and Justin put down nine songs. Prentice played the banjo. I added bass, harmony and percussion. Glenn spent a bunch of time mixing it. When he finished, it was cool. Ten days after the recording session, Knight received his finished CD in the mail. It was the first CD I ever touched, he said. Knight then decided to promote his work. He and his family have traveled to Bowling Green, Paducah, Nashville, Tenn., and other places for interviews and radio and live performances and to persuade record stores to sell the CD.Disc Jockey in Bowling Green was one of those stores. It knocked us out, Disc Jockey sales Manager Jeff Sweeney said of Knights music. It has an Americana feel about it. Its hard to pigeonhole. It doesnt sound like anybody. It has such honesty. Im writing a review on it, and Im calling it music from the heart and the Heartland. Northcutt also was impressed with the finished product. Whats amazing is everyones response to it, he said. Chris voice and lyrics ring true to people in their 30s and 40s. The words that he sings are painfully true. His voice is off-the-wall and endearing. Knight seemed surprised by the attention. I was at one place and somebody asked me, Is that your music playing in the back? I said, I dont know. Im not in the back. Somehow he knew it was my music and he said, Thats real good music, Chris Knight said. Its a comfort that people like our music. But breaking onto the music scene hasnt been without a battle to keep the familys simple lifestyle, Knight said. Its been a struggle with us to go ahead with this, he said. Were not interested in changing how we live. We dont want a record label or record managers. Chris Knight doesnt know where this music venture will take him, but he and his family, which also includes John Jr., 28; Joshua, 23; Madison, 15; Joel, 9; Malachai, 7; Gabriel, 5; and Kate, 3, will continue to enjoy music with or without fame. Our whole family is fairly musical, Chris Knight said. If you get rid of artificial things, children will be naturally interested in everything. Way Down Inside will be available in Bowling Green at Disc Jockey, Box of Rocks and The Great Escape and by writing to Knight Family, P.O. Box 45, Franklin, Ky. 42135.