Mathew Knowles had a tough choice to make. Looking back, he knows he made the right one. With a smile he quips: It must have been destiny.
Knowles was a top-tier corporate salesman with extraordinary people skills. When he talked, other professionals listened. More to the point; customers listened, and bought what he was selling.
As Xerox Corporation’s number one worldwide salesman in their medical-systems sales division, what he was selling was diagnostic imaging equipment. His customers were hospitals and other medical facilities, where the life-saving technology was put to immediate use.
DAD WAS ALREADY A ROCK STAR — AND RICH
It was a secure, stable job, and he was a rock star at Xerox. The position paid well, but Mathew Knowles was already a rich man — wealthy in what really counts. That is, because Mathew had two extraordinarily talented daughters, and he believed in them. He knew they had bright futures, and would someday make a huge impact on the world around them. And they would do it with their music.
Like his daughters, Mathew Knowles dreamed big. And in the end, his dreams brought him to a fork in the road: Choose the adventure and unpredictability of the dream, or continue his professional rise at Xerox.
Mathew went all in on the dream, and the rest is musical and cultural history. He took over the reins of the yet undiscovered Destiny’s Child. He was the group’s strategist, manager and biggest advocate.
These days we know him as a major music, film and television executive, but in the early 1990s he was just a dad who believed in his daughters, a confident man who nonetheless knew he was rolling the dice on his future, and that of his family.
Today, everyone knows their names, but at the time Beyoncé and Solange Knowles were at the beginning of their creative arc, with a musical future that was far from clear.
BEYONCÉ TURNED TO DAD AFTER STAR SEARCH LOSS
The seeds of their success were planted in 1990, when Beyoncé started Girl’s Tyme, a precursor to Destiny’s Child, in the family’s hometown of Houston. On their own, Beyoncé and her friends began a slow and steady rise, but faced setbacks such as a loss on the televised Star Search competition. After that disappointment, Mathew Knowles became the group’s full-time manager, and cheerleader.
The group ultimately transformed itself into Destiny’s Child, a name said to represent a rebirth of destiny. And soon, that’s exactly what happened: Their dreams were back on track, and their popularity began to soar.
The group consistently topped the charts, collecting multiple awards along the way, including Grammys, American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, MTV Awards, BET Awards, and more. Billboard magazine placed the group on their top-10 list for the decade.
The group’s first chart breakthrough came in late ’97 with the debut of the single, “No, No, No.” Its eponymous album went platinum after rising to number 14 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. A remix of the single rocketed to number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number three on the magazine’s Hot 100.
FAME IGNITED WITH THE SECOND ALBUM’S POETRY AND PROPHECY
Their next album smashed records and expectations, as the group’s compelling music and message broke through to a worldwide audience. “The Writing’s on the Wall” was released in 1999. It soon proved to be not only poetic, but prophetic — the writing was on the wall for a future of success, a destiny of achievement. Its lead single, “Bills, Bills, Bills” soared to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
DAD MATHEW KNOWLES COMPOSED A #1 HIT
In addition to guiding Destiny’s Child during this period of kinetic creativity, Mathew Knowles worked as a producer for the group’s albums. He also co-wrote the number-one hit, “Survivor.”
Today, Mathew Knowles looks back on this history with great satisfaction. Despite the personal sacrifice, he truly is a survivor — one of those rare individuals who risks it all, believes deeply in the exceptional talent of his children, joins his own dreams with theirs, and ends up at the pinnacle of his profession.
MATHEW KNOWLES IS STILL A MAJOR CULTURAL FORCE
Along the way he has had a profound impact on media, music and culture, in part by creating such legendary companies as Music World Entertainment, Knowles has been involved worked with other stars like Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland, Nas, Chaka Khan, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mario, Lyfe Jennings and many others.
Whether discussing his years as a top Xerox salesman or his achievements as a world-class record producer, the same line still rings true about Mathew Knowles: In an industry of carbon copies, he is an original.
Today, he serves as a highly sought-after speaker sharing his secrets for success with the next generation of professional and creative achievers.