After leaving Stax, Knight recorded songs for various small labels, but was not able to gain any more recognition. She ended up performing and touring the local oldie circuit. Things changed in 1981, when she met local producer Isaac Bolden, who signed her to his Soulin' label. Together, they came up with a song entitled "You Got the Papers but I Got the Man," an answer song to Richard "Dimples" Fields' record, "She's Got Papers On Me"; that song was leased to Atlantic Records for national release. Soon, Knight found herself touring consistently. In 1985, she gained more recognition when she covered Rockin' Sidney's zydeco novelty hit, "My Toot Toot," and found herself in a cover battle with Denise LaSalle. While LaSalle's version reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, Knight's version was the more successful Stateside, reaching #50 on the pop chart. Knight was then given a chance to perform it on the TV variety show "Solid Gold". The song also became her only hit in South Africa, reaching number 3.