NORKA
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People > Notable Norkans > Richard Lawrence "Dick" Kniss

Richard Lawrence "Dick" Kniss

Richard Lawrence "Dick" Kniss was a bassist who performed for over four decades (beginning in 1964) with the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. At their concerts, his wife Diane reports, Dick was always introduced on stage by the trio as "the fourth member" of their group.
Picture
Dick Kniss
Dick is continually re-inventing approaches to our songs. Sometimes he's there at the beginning; helping to create the tone or mood of a piece while the trio's vocal parts are still evolving.  But personally, I think his greatest contributions come nightly!  I can't name another bass player who improvises so tastefully within the framework of folk music. -- Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
When the trio disbanded for a time in the 1970s, Dick signed on as an original member of John Denver's band (Denver was also of German Russian descent), where he co-wrote the hit Sunshine on My Shoulders and The Season Suite, which became the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974.

Dick, son of John Kniss and Bernice Cutler, was born April 24, 1937 in Portland, Oregon. His father's parents were John Kniss Sr. (born October 30, 1878 in Norka) and Katharina Elisabeth Miller (born November 16, 1878 in Norka).

His first instrument was a guitar, but he soon moved on to the bass. His musical career as a bass player began in San Francisco before moving to New York City. His roots were in jazz and during his prolific 58 year career he was a sideman to such notables as Herbie Hancock and Woody Herman.

Kniss was also active in the 1960's civil rights movement, and performed benefits for many causes, playing during the first celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday. 

Dick Kniss died January 25, 2012.

Sources

"Dick Kniss, a Bassist for Peter, Paul and Mary, Dies at 74," New York Times, January 28, 2012.

"Peter, Paul and Mary Bassist Dick Kniss Dies," Rolling Stone Magazine, January 12, 2012.

Ancestry.com
Last updated April 16, 2016.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About
    • Reviews
    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Prayers
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johannes Baptista Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
    • Related Links