As we come to the end of Black History Month, I chose an artist with an over sixty-year career of recording and performing. However, she is still very active and making an appearance here in South Florida later this week. The fourth historical figure featured this month in Weekly Music Commentary happens to be singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, author, and seven-time Grammy Award-winner Gladys Knight.
The choice of Gladys Knight for the special historical post was not difficult, as she has enjoyed a career filled with hit music. Another aspect of her story is how she achieved said accomplishments. You see, Gladys Knight is one of the most respected artists of all time. When her name is mentioned, it elicits responses filled with awe and admiration. She is a much loved entertainer.
Several years ago filmmaker Tyler Perry made a movie titled, I Can Do Bad All By Myself. As usual he was able to put together a diverse cast of established and new actors. He was also able to get Gladys Knight to play a role in the movie. When questioned about filming, he spoke of the first day that Gladys Knight stepped on the set. He said that the entire cast and workers behind the camera were equally enamored by her presence.
There was another occasion when on TMZ, the tabloid entertainment news website and television show that creator Harvey Levin expressed his admiration for Gladys Knight. As he spoke with her on the phone, he wanted to sing along as a Pip as she sang Midnight Train To Georgia. The always good-natured Knight granted his request. He stated that moment was one he would never forget.
Of course the ultimate in the celebrity fan admiration department has to be radio disk-jockey Tom Joyner. For many years he expressed his infatuation and love for Gladys Knight, whether she was a guest on the show or not. In fact, many times he said that he wished to marry Gladys. I’m not sure how much of his expressions were comedy bit, nevertheless, he certainly always spoke highly of the legendary singer.
As always I feel that the start in music is the best way to tell why a star is a star. There are usually a lot of clues in a childhood that provide the foundation for an artist. Therefore, lets begin at the beginning.
Gladys Marie Knight was born May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Merald Woodlow Knight Sr., a postal worker, and Sarah Elizabeth Knight. She first achieved minor fame by winning Ted Mack’s The Original Amateur Hour TV show contest at the age of seven in 1952. That same year, she, her brother Merald, sister Brenda, and cousins William and Elenor Guest formed a musical group called the Pips (named after another cousin, James “Pip” Woods). By the end of the decade, the act had begun to tour, and had replaced Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest with Gladys Knight’s cousin Edward Patten and friend Langston George.
In 1961, Knight and her group recorded the single, “Every Beat of My Heart”, which was written for Knight by R&B producer Johnny Otis. It was released on the tiny Atlanta Huntom label, which was eventually picked up by Vee Jay Records. At the same time, they were also signed with Bobby Robinson’s label, Fury Records. Both labels issued different versions of the song, with the Vee Jay/Huntom version becoming a hit and outselling the Fury remake. After the success of their follow-up, “Letter Full of Tears”, Fury released their first full-length album. They stayed with Fury through 1962 until signing with Larry Maxwell’s Maxx label in 1964, releasing several modest hits produced by Van McCoy, including the original version of “Giving Up” and “Lovers Always Forgive”.
What came next was the break that truly placed Gladys Knight and the Pips on the road to major success. Gladys Knight & the Pips joined the Motown Records roster in 1966. Although they only had modest success up until this time, Berry Gordy saw and heard something special. The young woman with the infectious smile and very soulful voice along with her family members backing her left an indelible impression on the record exec. Like many times before – and after, Berry Gordy was right.
Gladys Knight and the Pips scored several major hit singles, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (recorded first by Marvin Gaye, his version not released until 1968), “Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me” (1967), “Friendship Train” (1969), “If I Were Your Woman” (1970), “I Don’t Want To Do Wrong” (1971), the Grammy Award-winning “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” (1972), and “Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)” (1973).
The act eventually left Motown for a better deal with Buddah Records in 1973, and achieved full-fledged success that year with hits such as the Grammy-winning “Midnight Train to Georgia” (#1 on the pop and R&B chart), “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” “The Way We Were/Try To Remember” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”. In the summer of 1974, Knight and the Pips recorded the soundtrack to the successful film Claudine with producer Curtis Mayfield.
By this time I really began to take notice of Gladys Knight and the Pips. They were major stars in my household, and also the households of my friends. I did not realize however, how extensive their reach was around the world. The act was particularly successful in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom. However, a number of the Buddah singles became hits in the UK long after their success in the US. For example, “Midnight Train to Georgia” hit the UK pop charts Top 5 in the summer of 1976, a full three years after its success in the U.S.
Gladys Knight and the Pips continued to successfully record and tour until 1988. At the time when they disbanded, the group was still extremely popular with a hit album All Our Love recorded just the year before. Gladys Knight was now prepared for a solo career.
There was no reason to believe that Gladys Knight would not experience continued success as a solo artist. Of course, everyone soon found out that Gladys Knight was a good fit for so many musical projects. While still with the Pips, Gladys joined with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the 1986 AIDS benefit single, “That’s What Friends Are For”, a triple No. 1 mega-hit, which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. In 1989 she recorded the title track “License to Kill” for the James Bond movie License to Kill, a Top 10 hit in the UK and Germany.
Successful music careers open opportunities in the small and large screens. Gladys Knight received those opportunities and took advantage of them with more success. In 1976, Knight made her acting debut as the lead in the film Pipe Dreams for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. In 2003, she had a small role in the movie Hollywood Homicide, which starred Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. As mentioned earlier, Knight was featured in Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself, the film version of a play he had dramatized.
Knight starred the variety show, The Gladys Knight and the Pips Show, which was canceled after four episodes. She also guest-starred on several TV series throughout the 1980s and 1990s, appearing on Benson, The Jeffersons, A Different World, Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show, and New York Undercover. In 1985, she co-starred on the CBS sitcom Charlie & Co., alongside comedian Flip Wilson, which lasted for one season. Knight continued both cameo and guest starring roles even down to today. In 2018, she played Ella Grover, mother of Captain Lou Grover, in the “Lele pū nā manu like” (“Birds of a Feather…”) episode of Hawaii Five-0.
A few years ago I got the chance to see Gladys Knight live. It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended as she was as good as any recording, possibly even better. Hopefully, those attending one of her shows for the first time later this week will enjoy a treat.
I got a chance to reflect on Gladys Knight’s extensive legacy and immediately began to think about some of the artists of today. Are any of them going to enjoy similar career success? Maybe! Regardless, we will always have the music and legacy of one of the best artists in the history of music – Gladys Knight.