Knight, Gladys 1944–

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Gladys Knight 1944–

Singer

Gladys Knight is an R&B vocalist whose enduring career has spanned more than five decades and reached the highest levels of commercial and critical success. She rose to fame during the 1960s and '70s as the lead singer of Gladys Knight and the Pips, with whom she recorded such hit songs as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Together Gladys Knight and the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In announcing Knight's selection as the 2007 recipient of the Ella Award, president Jerry F. Sharell of the Society of Singers praised Knight's artistry, calling her resonant alto “one of the greatest and most distinctive voices of our time.”

Gladys Knight was born May 28, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Merald and Elizabeth Knight, singers who performed in a gospel choir. Knight began singing at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church as a young child and had her first recital there in 1948 when she was four years old. With the Atlanta-based Morris Brown Choir, Knight toured the South from 1950 through 1953, performing at churches and schools. She appeared on the television talent show Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in 1952, where she won the first prize of $2,000 for singing Nat King Cole's “Too Young.” That same year Knight, her brother Merald (known as “Bubba”), sister Brenda, and cousins William and Eleanor Guest performed together at a family party. Another cousin, James “Pip” Woods later suggested that they turn professional, and he lent them his nickname: the group became known as the “Pips.” By 1957 the Pips included cousins Edward Patten and Langston George, but Knight was the only female remaining after her sister Brenda and cousin Eleanor each left the group to get married. George exited the group as well in 1960, leaving the quartet that comprised Gladys Knight and the Pips through the 1980s: Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight, William Guest, and Edward Patten.

The Pips sang at supper clubs during the week and in church on Sundays. They toured nationally with Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke before Knight was thirteen years old, but their 1957 recording debut with Brunswick went nowhere. In 1960 the group produced their first Top 20 hit with a version of Johnny Otis's “Every Beat of My Heart,” which attracted national attention, moving to #6 on the R&B charts in July of 1961. The group faltered somewhat during the early 1960s as Knight married and had two children; the Pips continued to work singing studio backing vocals for other artists. Once reunited as a quartet, the group was known mostly to R&B fans, with little connection to a mass audience until the mid-sixties.

Recorded Hit Songs with the Pips

The group's breakthrough began in 1966, when Gladys Knight and the Pips signed to Motown's subsidiary, Soul, teaming with producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield. As the group began their rise to prominence, Knight's grainy alto vocals left them slightly out of the mainstream at first. By December of 1967, however, the group released their major hit single, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” which became a Motown standard, reaching #2 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for three weeks. Numerous hits followed, including, “The Nitty Gritty” (1968), “Friendship Train” (1969), and “If I Were Your Woman,” which became one of the label's biggest selling releases in 1970.

During the early 1970s Gladys Knight and the Pips moved slowly toward a middle-of-the-road harmony which contributed to their success in 1972 with “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Good-Bye).” By 1973 the group left Motown and signed with Buddah records, just as “Neither One of Us” mounted the charts to become the #2 hit during March of that year. The group attributed their label switch to a lack of support from Motown after it relocated its operations from Detroit to Hollywood. At Buddah, Knight and the Pips met with instant success as their popularity peaked. Their first album released with Buddah was Imagination, their biggest selling album to date. Not only did the album go gold, but it also produced three gold singles: “Midnight Train to Georgia” (#1 in 1973), “I've Got to Use My Imagination” (#4 in 1974), and “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” (#3 in 1974).

Also in 1974 the group performed on Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack for the film Claudine, which included the hit single, “On and On.” The following year, the title track of I Feel a Song yielded yet another #1 soul hit. The group successfully continued singing with a smoother approach, as evidenced by “The Way We Were/Try to Remember,” which became the centerpiece for their Second Anniversary album in 1975. During this same year, the group hosted their own U.S. television series and, the following year Knight made her acting debut in Pipe Dreams, for which the group recorded a soundtrack. The subject of this film involved romance set among the Alaskan oil pipelines.

Despite the group's growing success, legal problems ensued for the remainder of the decade as a result of their attempted label switch to Columbia, coupled with a previous unsettled suit by Motown. Because of these legal proceedings, Knight was not allowed to record with the Pips for three years—though they sang together live. During this time, Knight recorded a solo album, and the Pips released two albums on Casablanca. Because of their inability to record together, the group's popularity waned. An out of court settlement in 1980, however, resulted in a new contract for Knight and the Pips through 1985. Once reunited on Columbia, the group rapidly regained their former status with All About Love and the #3 R&B hit, “Landlord.”

At a Glance …

Born Gladys Maria Knight, May 28, 1944, in Atlanta, GA; daughter of Merald and Elizabeth (Woods) Knight; married James Newman, 1960 (divorced), married Barry Hankerson, 1974 (divorced, 1979), married Les Brown, 1995 (divorced, 1997), married William McDowell, 2001; children: James and Kenya (first marriage), Shanga-Ali (second marriage). Education: Shaw University, graduated (with honors).

Career: Recording artist and performer, 1957—. Actor in television programs, including Pipe Dreams, 1975; Charlie & Co., 1985; Sisters in the Name of Love, HBO, 1986; New York Undercover, 1994; Living Single, 1997; and The Wayans Brothers, 1997.

Selected awards: Grammy Awards, 1973, 1974, 1987, 1989, 2002, 2005, 2006; Billboard award, Ebony Music award, Ladies' Home Journal award, and Rolling Stone award, all 1975; American Music Awards, 1975, 1976, 1984, 1989; Heritage Award and Soul Train Music Award, 1988; NAACP Image Award, 1989; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1996; BET Lifetime Achievement Award, 2006; Las Vegas Music Awards, Legendary Award, 2006; Ella Award, Society of Singers, 2007.

Addresses: Office—c/o Shakeji, Inc., 2700 East Sunset Rd., Ste. 31D, Las Vegas, NV 89120-3506. Agent—William Morris Agency, One William Morris Pl., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

In November of 1982 the group performed with a variety of musicians at the first Jamaican World Music Festival in Montego Bay. Following this, Knight recorded the Grammy Award-winning gold single “That's What Friends Are For” with Dionne Warwick and Elton John in support of AIDS research and prevention. The album Visions also produced a hit single, “Save the Overtime (For Me)” and subsequent releases alternated between R&B and pop ballads, where Knight's group demonstrated their ability in each genre. In 1988 the title cut of the group's Love Overboard album became their biggest selling single in more than a decade. This song earned them a Grammy Award in early 1989 for the Best R&B Performance.

Embarked on Solo Career

Following the release of “Love Overboard” and its Grammy recognition, Knight and the Pips broke up to pursue different career paths, though brother Bubba stayed on as road manager for Knight. As a solo artist she achieved a Top Ten hit in the United Kingdom with the James Bond theme song “License to Kill” and released the album Good Woman in 1991. The album featured the emotional ballad “Waiting on You,” cowritten by Knight and inspired by the Persian Gulf War. Guest performances on the disc included by Warwick, Patti Labelle, and David Peaston, with whom Knight performed the duet “Give Me a Chance.”

Knight's decades of achievement were recognized in New York on January 17, 1996, at the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom, when she and the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As reported in the Washington Post at the induction ceremony the vocalist Mariah Carey recalled, “sneaking a radio under the bed covers to listen to a singer as real as it gets. All [Knight] has to do is stand there and sing and she'll blow you away.”

In 1999 Knight released the album Many Different Roads, which featured inspirational and traditional Christian music and debuted at #23 on Billboard's Top 40 gospel chart. The album was the first release from the newly formed Many Roads label, which was created by Knight's son Jimmy Newman Jr. in 1998. Shortly after the release of Many Different Roads, Newman died unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of thirty-seven. Knight's album release was overshadowed by the loss of her son, and she withdrew from the public to spend time with her family.

When Knight returned to the studio in 2000 she went back to her roots, recording an album of traditional pop/R&B but with modern production and help from some of the industry's rising talent. Her 2001 release At Last contained a collection of R&B classics reimagined through modern production. Knight brought young producers onboard to help her capture a contemporary sound and released a duet single with up-and-coming R&B singer and actor Jamie Foxx. The album reached #98 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart and remained on the charts for weeks. Shortly after the release of her album, Knight married William McDowell, a corporate consultant and longtime friend whom she had begun seeing romantically in early 2001.

Returned to Gospel Roots

Knight's triumphant return to R&B won her a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Album and showed that she was still able to hold her own in the modern music industry. While she was touring and performing selections from her newest release, Knight was also busy organizing her next venture, as leader and musical director of the Saints Unified Voices (SUV) Choir. Knight organized the 100-member choir as a way to support the Church of Latter Day Saints, which she had joined in 1997. By 2003 Knight and the SUV Choir were touring the gospel circuit and winning critical praise for their performances.

Knight teamed with R&B legend Ray Charles to record a live version of “Heaven Help Us All,” which won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance. In August of the same year, Knight was awarded Black Entertainment Television's Lifetime Achievement Award. At the award ceremony, a variety of artists performed in tribute to Knight and her contribution to African-American music and culture. Also in 2005 Knight and the SUV released their first album, One Voice, to critical acclaim. The album remained in the Billboard charts for over fifty weeks, and in 2006 Knight received her seventh Grammy Award for Best Gospel Choir. With a best-selling album, Knight's transition to musical director marked another success in her already illustrious career. Knight's list of accolades continued to grow as she received the 2006 Legendary Award at the Las Vegas Music Awards and the Ella Award in 2007 from the Society of Singers.

Knight has been involved in a number of successful ventures outside of her music career, including acting in television series and joining her daughter, Kenya, in opening a celebrity bakery in Las Vegas. She lends her support to philanthropic causes, particularly diabetes education and research. From her start as the lead singer of one of the most popular and prolific R&B groups of the Motown era through an accomplished solo career to director of a Grammy Award-winning choir, Knight has proven herself to be a star with staying power and the ability to adapt and evolve. As an artist, singer, and songwriter, Knight helped to define African-American music in the twentieth century and remains one of music's leading ladies.

Selected Works

Books

Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story, Hyperion, 1997.

At Home With Gladys Knight, American Diabetes Association, 2001.

Albums

Letter Full of Tears, Collectables, 1961.

Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sphere Sound, 1964.

Everybody Needs Love, Motown, 1967.

Gladys Knight, Columbia, 1967.

Feelin' Bluesy, Motown, 1968.

Silk & Soul, Motown, 1968.

Nitty Gritty, Motown, 1969.

All in a Knights Work, Soul, 1970.

If I Were Your Woman, Motown, 1971.

Standing Ovation, Motown, 1971.

That Special Time of Year, Columbia, 1971.

Help Me Make It Through the Night, Motown, 1973.

Gladys Knight & the Pips, Trip, 1973.

Imagination, Pair, 1973.

Neither One of Us, Motown, 1973.

All I Need Is Time, Motown, 1973.

Knight Time, Soul, 1974.

Claudine, Buddah, 1974.

I Feel a Song, Buddah, 1974.

A Little Knight Music, Soul, 1975.

How Do You Say Goodbye, Springboard, 1975.

I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Pickwick, 1975.

Pow, Pickwick, 1975.

Pipe Dreams, Buddah, 1976.

Take Me in Your Arms, MFP, 1976.

Bless This House, Buddah, 1976.

Still Together, Buddah, 1976.

Love Is Always on Your Mind, Buddah, 1977.

The One and Only, Buddah, 1978.

Gladys Knight, Columbia, 1979.

Miss Gladys Knight, Buddah, 1979.

Memories, Buddah, 1979.

Gladys Knight & the Pips, Up Front, 1979.

Spotlight, PRT, 1980.

About Love, Columbia, 1980.

Take Me Back, Manhattan, 1980.

Nightful, Manhattan, 1980.

First Shot, Manhattan, 1980.

Funky, Manhattan, 1980.

Touch, Columbia, 1981.

Visions, Columbia, 1983.

Life, Collectables, 1985.

All Our Love, MCA, 1988.

Every Beat of My Heart, Chameleon, 1989.

Christmas Album, Special Music, 1989.

Good Woman, MCA, 1991.

Just for You, MCA, 1994.

Midnight Train to Georgia (compilation), BMG Special, 1997.

Many Different Roads, Many Roads, 1998.

At Last, MCA, 2000.

The Early Times of Gladys Knight & the Pips (compilation), Orpheus, 2002.

Platinum & Gold Collection (compilation), Buddha, 2003.

One Voice, Mormon Tabernacle, 2005.

Before Me, Verve Records, 2006

Christmas Celebration, Many Roads, 2006.

Singles

“Every Beat of My Heart,” 1960.

“Letter Full of Tears,” 1962.

“I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” 1967.

“The Nitty Gritty,” 1968.

“Friendship Train,” 1969.

“If I Were Your Woman,” 1970.

“Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Good-Bye),” 1972.

“Midnight Train to Georgia,” 1973.

“Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” 1974.

“I've Got to Use My Imagination,” 1974.

“On and On,” 1974.

“Landlord,” 1980.

(With Dionne Warwick and Elton John) “That's What Friends Are For,” 1986.

“Love Overboard,” 1987.

“Save the Overtime (For Me),” 1988.

“License to Kill,” 1989.

(With David Peaston) “Give Me a Chance,” 1991.

Sources

Books

African American Almanac, 7th edition, Gale Research, 1995.

Bronson, Fred, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Publications, 1985.

The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, second edition, ed. Colin Larkin, Guinness Publishing, 1995.

The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, ed. Jon Pereles and Patricia Romanowski, Rolling Stone Press, 1983.

Periodicals

Business Wire, July 14, 1999.

Jet, April 19, 1993, pp. 56-58; November 7, 1994, pp. 56-59; May 15, 1995, p. 40; November 27, 1995, pp. 58-60; July 29, 1996, p. 61.

Rolling Stone, March 2001.

Washington Post, November 9, 1989, p. F17; October 23, 1991, p. B7; March 23, 1992, p. D12; February 27, 1993, p. D8; March 31, 1995, p. WW13; April 3, 1995, p. D4; January 18, 1996, p. C1; April 17, 2007.