Six
SIX are six real brothers. They actually come from a family of ten brothers, no sisters and are the six oldest in the family. Apparently their mom and dad (Arnold and Joyce Knudsen) wanted a girl.
Barry Knudsen is the eldest and was born in Davenport, Iowa. Kevin Knudsen is second and was born in Farmington, New Mexico. Lynn Knudsen is third and was born in Mesa, Arizona. Jak Knudsen is fourth and was born in El Paso, Texas. Owen Knudsen is fifth and was born in Seattle, Washington and Curtis Knudsen, number six, was born in Seattle as well. Their father worked where he could to support his family which explains their nomadic beginnings.
The four younger brothers are a huge support to their six older performing brothers and play an important part behind the scenes.
When SIX were still very young, their father noticed that that they could make up songs and also make up harmonies without instruction. Being musically gifted himself, he decided to sit them down at an old piano (the only instrument they could afford) and begin teaching them gospel hymns. They picked the hymns up quickly and were soon singing them in 4-5 part harmony. After their first performance singing gospel in church, they began learning other types of music and performing at various rotary clubs, talent contests, community concerts and fairs.
Debut on the Donnie and Marie Show
After 3 years of hard work, they made their national television debut on the Donnie and Marie show in May of 1978. The brothers were hooked.
During their teenage years they experimented with everything from Barbershop to Disco to Punk Rock. At one time they were simultaneously competing in Barbershop singing contests and playing punk rock concerts.
In 1987 they left home in Phoenix, Arizona driving an old beat up pickup and carrying a few hundred bucks and moved to Southern California to try and make it on their own. They began performing a cappella (just voices) on the streets in downtown LA for loose change and to pass out their business cards. After a few months, they scraped together enough money to get an apartment and begin a steady diet of Top Ramen and Cheerios. Their street singing efforts quickly began to pay off. They soon found themselves performing in the Hollywood A-list party circles for heavy weights like Arnold Swarzennegger, Clint Eastwood, Joel Silver and Warren Beatty.
The brothers soon began to get regular gigs at the local clubs in So Cal and in 1988 scored steady work at Disneyland’s “Blast to the Past“. It was there that they developed enough material to begin getting even better paying engagements.
In 1990, they won Harmony Sweepstakes and have since won numerous CASA awards for their recordings and vocal arrangements.
In 1995 the brothers were blessed to turn their music career into a fulltime gig once and for all and have never looked back. They have shared the stage with Trisha Yearwood, Diana Ross, the Beach Boys, Olivia Newton John, Rod Stewart, the Doobie Brothers and many others. Their award winning act has been featured on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines since 1998 and their ratings by its passengers are unrivaled. They have also performed for numerous corporations such as American Express, Pizza Hut, the Million Dollar Roundtable, Northeastern Financial, Pitney Bowes, Ryder Trucks just to name a few. They feel privileged to have performed all over the world to countless fans and are deeply grateful for their support.
They currently reside and perform in Branson Missouri.
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