Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for more than three decades starting from the early 1950s.
Starting out as simply the Pips in 1952, derived from a cousin's nickname, the founding members were Gladys Knight, brother Merald "Bubba" Knight, sister Brenda Knight and cousins Eleanor Guest and William Guest. After a couple of years performing in talent shows, the group signed with Brunswick Records in 1957, recording a couple of singles that failed to chart. Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest eventually left the group and were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a non-relative, Langston George in 1959. This lineup produced the group's first hit single, "Every Beat of My Heart". After the single was released on three different labels, they changed their name to Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1961. Langston George left the same year and Gladys Knight left in 1962 to start a family with musician Jimmy Newman. Knight rejoined in 1964 and this lineup continued until the group's disbandment in 1989.
The group reached commercial success after signing with Motown Records in 1966. After a year and a half, the group recorded the first hit single version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in 1967, which led to several hit singles for Motown's Soul Records label, including "Nitty Gritty", "Friendship Train", "If I Were Your Woman", "I Don't Want to Do Wrong" and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", before leaving the label for Buddah Records in 1973. At Buddah, they recorded the hits "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", "I've Got to Use My Imagination", "I Feel a Song (In My Heart)" and their Grammy-winning and number-one hit single, "Midnight Train to Georgia". In 1974, they recorded the soundtrack to the successful film Claudine with producer Curtis Mayfield, which included the songs "On and On", "The Makings of You" and "Make Yours a Happy Home". Contractual difficulties with their labels forced the group to record side projects from 1977 until 1980 when they signed with Columbia Records. Later hits included "Landlord", "Save the Overtime (For Me)" and the Grammy-winning single "Love Overboard". In 1989, the group disbanded with the Pips retiring and Knight embarking on a successful solo career.
Gladys Knight & the Pips are multiple Grammy and American Music Award winners and are inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1996 and 2001 respectively.
History Early years (1952–1961) Gladys Knight performed on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in 1952 at the age of eight, winning first prize. On September 4, 1952, Gladys, Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest began performing together during Bubba's tenth birthday party after a record player malfunctioned. Shortly afterwards, the quintet agreed to form a group under the insistence of Gladys' mother Elizabeth Knight. They settled on the name The Pips, inspired by the nickname of their cousin James "Pip" Woods. By 1955, the group began performing on the talent show circuit in their hometown of Atlanta, winning each talent show they entered. This success allowed them to get a record contract with Brunswick Records in 1957. At Brunswick, the group released two recordings that failed to chart. Despite this, the group was now opening for top recording acts such as Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.
By 1959, Brunswick dropped the group and both Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest left the group to begin families. They were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a friend, Langston George. Patten and George were involved in another group before joining the Pips.
Early success (1961–1965) In 1961, the Pips recorded the Johnny Otis-penned "Every Beat of My Heart". Because the group was without a record label, a local Atlanta label, Huntom Records, pushed the single and got a distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records to release the single. During this time, the group moved to New York where they auditioned for Bobby Robinson's Fury Records. Upon learning that "Every Beat of My Heart" was already becoming a hit and cutting the group out of profits, Robinson had the group re-record the song and re-release it on Fury Records. Both versions made the Billboard charts, with the Huntom/Vee-Jay version reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to the re-release on Fury Records, the group changed their name to Gladys Knight & the Pips.Gladys Knight And The Pips – Every Beat Of My Heart, Discogs.com Later in 1961, the newly christened quintet released the single, "Letter Full of Tears", which became another top 40 hit in early 1962. After a string of single releases on Fury Records, Langston George left the group in 1962.
The group's success was halted by Gladys Knight's sudden departure in 1962 to start a family with husband Jimmy Newman, a musician. Knight gave birth to the couple's son James Gaston Newman III in August 1962. A daughter, Kenya Maria Newman, was born in November 1963. During this period, the Pips kept performing and recording to little fanfare, and eventually each Pip took odd jobs while Gladys Knight began performing solo with Newman, now her musical director. Eventually Gladys reunited with the Pips and signed with a local New York label, Maxx Records, that year. During that time, Newman served as the group's musical director. During this period, the group were mentored by Maurice King and Cholly "Pops" Atkins; their association with King going back to the group's early years traveling to Detroit. The group recorded a third top 40 single with Van McCoy's "Giving Up" in 1964. Other notable songs they released on Maxx on the Gladys Knight and the Pips album include "Lovers Always Forgive", "(There Will Never Be) Another Love", "Either Way I Lose", "Go Away, Stay Away", "Maybe Maybe Baby", ""Stop and Get a Hold of Myself", "Who Knows? (I Just Can't Trust You)" and "If I Should Ever Fall in Love".
The group developed a reputation for exciting and polished live performances, that enabled them to work even without the benefit of bestselling records. Choreographer Atkins designed "fast-stepping" dance routines that became a signature of the Pips' stage presentation; Atkins later described his working and personal relationship with the group in his autobiography, Class Act: The Jazz Life of Choreographer Cholly Atkins: "The one thing that I was pleased about was a stipulation in my contract that allowed me to keep working with Gladys Knight & the Pips as personal clients even though I would be an employee of Motown Records. To tell the truth, Gordy wasn't too happy about it at first, but this is something that I would not compromise under any circumstances. By that time, Gladys and the guys were like my own children!"Class Act: The Jazz Life of Choreographer Cholly Atkins(pg. 148). New York: Columbia University Press. .
Gladys Knight & the Pips join Motown Records (1966–1973) By the end of 1965, Berry Gordy was scouting to get the group signed to his Motown label. Knight initially refused to sign due to her fears that the label would overlook them for the more popular artists on his roster, but she was outvoted by the Pips. They would sign with Motown in 1966, being assigned to Motown's Soul Records label, a label which featured acts who had more of an R&B flavor than a pop one. Their first Motown single, "Just Walk in My Shoes", was a hit in the UK, but the group was disappointed in Motown having The Andantes sing over the Pips' signature harmony in the song, resulting in the group demanding that the Andantes not be featured on any more of the group's recordings. They also were one of the few Motown acts that did not regularly perform on the label's Motortown Revues, with an exception being a Christmas showcase at the Fox Theater in Detroit, recorded for the album, Motortown Revue Live. A second single, "Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me", also reached the charts in the UK.
Their third single, "Everybody Needs Love", became the group's first American charted single in two years, reaching number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three R&B after its release in 1967. On the A&E Network television program Biography, Knight stated that she and the Pips were regarded as a second-string act, and that "Diana (Ross) & the Supremes, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers." In Knight's autobiography, Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story,Knight, Gladys (1997). Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story. New York: Hyperion Press. . she stated that Diana Ross had the group removed from being The Supremes' opening act on a 1968 tour for, according to Knight, being 'too good'. The group finally scored a career breakthrough with their fourth Motown single, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart. The group's recording became Motown's bestselling single ever to that point, selling more than 2.5 million copies.George, Nelson (1985, rev. 2003). Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown. London: Omnibus Press. . Marvin Gaye's version of the song, released in 1968, outsold the group's version, selling four million copies and reaching number one on the Hot 100. While at Motown in 1968, Knight was the first person to suggest that Berry Gordy sign the up-and-coming group called The Jackson Five (though Bobby Taylor of the Vancouvers also had a role), after appearing with them on a concert held in Gary, Indiana, to help elect Mayor Richard Hatcher, despite the claim that Diana Ross discovered them.
Following the success of "Grapevine", the group worked frequently with Norman Whitfield. Whitfield produced them the hits, "The End of Our Road", "It Should've Been Me", "Friendship Train", "Nitty Gritty" and "You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)". They also recorded Ashford & Simpson's "Didn't You Know (You'd Have To Cry Sometime)" in 1969. They scored their second million-selling Motown single with the ballad "If I Were Your Woman" in 1970. Another ballad, the self-composed "I Don't Want to Do Wrong", became another million-selling single. Both singles were featured on their first number one album, also titled If I Were Your Woman. In late 1971, they released a soulful version of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night", which became an international hit. The group released the Jim Weatherly ballad, "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", in December 1972, the single would become their last single released while still with the label. As the single was charting, the group tried to negotiate a better contract with Motown. Negotiations fell through weeks later and, in February 1973, the group left Motown and signed with Buddah Records. "Neither One of Us" became their biggest selling single at Motown, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning the group a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Taking the "Midnight Train" to Buddah Records (1973–1980)
Following the signing with Buddah Records, the label issued another Weatherly ballad, "Where Peaceful Waters Flow", released around the same time "Neither One of Us" and a Motown single, "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare", was charting. The song became a modest success as a result. The group reached its popular and critical peak soon afterwards, starting with the release of another Weatherly song, "Midnight Train to Georgia", in August 1973. The song eventually hit number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts, becoming their signature song.