Gladys Knight & the Pips
| Gladys Knight & the Pips | |
|---|---|
 Gladys Knight & the Pips on board the USS Ranger in 1981 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Soul , disco |
| founding | 1952 as The Pips |
| resolution | 1989 |
| Last occupation | |
| Gladys Knight (1952-1962, 1964-1989) | |
singing |
Bubba Knight (1952-1989) |
singing |
William Guest (1952–1989, † 2015) |
singing |
Edward Patten (1959–1989, † 2005) |
| former members | |
singing |
Brenda Knight (until 1959) |
singing |
Elenor Guest (until 1959, † 1997) |
singing |
Langston George (1959–1962) |
singing |
Chris Morante (1988) |
Gladys Knight & the Pips were a multiple Grammy award-winning American soul vocal group that was one of the most successful artists in this genre for three decades from the 1960s to well into the 1980s. At the height of their careers, in 1973 and 1974, they were the most successful group in America in the singles charts. Her best-known and most successful recordings include I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1967), Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye) and the group's only number one hit in the US pop charts, Midnight Train to Georgia (1973). The group split in 1989, Gladys Knight continued her solo career. In 1996 Gladys Knight & the Pips was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .
Career
Gladys Knight was only eight years old when she formed the band in 1952 in Atlanta with her brothers Merald "Bubba" Knight, her sister Brenda Knight and her cousin William Guest and her cousin Eleanor Guest . At first the family ensemble simply called itself "The Pips". The first unsuccessful single Whistle My Love , which was published in 1958, was also released under this name. However, they toured with popular blues and soul greats such as BB King , Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke . In 1959, Eleanor Guest and Brenda Knight left the pips. Edward Patten, another cousin of the Knights, and Langston George came in to replace them.
In 1960 the single Every Beat of My Heart appeared on three different labels, the version on Vee Jay Records was the most successful and at the same time the first hit for The Pips. It made it into the top 10 of American pop and number one on the R&B charts. In the same year, the group renamed itself to the name Gladys Knight & the Pips, which is still known today. With the single letter Full of Tears , a follow-up success was initially achieved, but the foundations of the group shook in 1962. So both Langston George and Gladys Knight left the band to start a family. As a result, the singles Linda and Happiness (Is the Light of Love) emerged without the female reinforcement. The ensemble changed the record company again, Knight finally returned to the group in 1964 and now there was finally the line-up that would celebrate the great successes in the following decades: Gladys and Bubba Knight, Edward Patten and William Guest.
After a few less successful singles, the group finally signed a contract with Soul Records, a Motown sub-label, in 1966 . At first Gladys Knight was afraid that the record company's other successful artists might literally steal the show from their band. Not without good reason, as she confirmed decades later in an interview with Süddeutsche . The singer attributed this to a kind of “box system” that label boss Berry Gordy had introduced over the years to control his artists: “And finally there were the servants at the bottom of the ladder. We belonged to them. We were seen as troublemakers. "
Nevertheless, with the help of Motown and producers like Norman Whitfield or Ashford & Simpson , the group managed a remarkable series of hits that lasted until the 1970s. The most successful were I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1967) and Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye) (1973), each of which reached number two on the US charts. It also made it to the top of the R&B charts, where they regularly enjoyed great success. The ballad If I Were Your Woman was number one there. Other notable hits included The Nitty Gritty and Friendship Train in 1969 and Motown's last Top 10 hit, Daddy Could Swear, I Declare , 1973. While at Motown, Gladys Knight Berry Gordy also made a talented children's band called The Jackson Five , which was signed by Gordy a short time later and also made music history.
Gladys Knight & the Pips had their greatest successes in the years 1973 to 1974 after they switched to Buddah Records . Their second single, Midnight Train to Georgia , was a million seller and their only number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 , which also won gold and a Grammy. The three following singles were also big hits and each received a gold award: I've Got to Use My Imagination and Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me , both number one on the R&B charts in 1973 and On and On from the soundtrack for Film Claudine , 1974, number two in said hit list. All of these titles were also in the top 5 of the pop charts. In parallel, Motown continued to release records by the group, which also sold solidly.
In 1974, the band achieved another number one hit in the R&B charts with I Feel a Song in My Heart , followed by more top 10 hits, but success slowly waned in the pop hit lists. Knight made her cinema debut in the 1976 film Pipe Dreams and also contributed the soundtrack with her pips. A year later, the group tried their hand at the then very trendy disco genre and worked with Van McCoy on the British top 5 hit Baby Don't Change Your Mind . Also Come Back and Finish What Your Started a year later, came from his pen.
Starting in 1977, Gladys Knight & the Pips got caught up in contractual difficulties with Buddah for several years. As a result, two neglected solo albums by Gladys Knight were released and the Pips signed with the Casablanca label, which specializes in disco, for two hardly noticed LPs. A humorous appearance by the Pips on the short-lived Richard Pryor Show attracted some attention , in which the trio only sang the background parts. An orphaned microphone was faded in where Gladys Knight would have sung.
It wasn't until 1980 that the disagreements were resolved and Gladys Knight & the Pips signed a new contract with Columbia . The comeback came with Landlord (1980) and the Ashford & Simpson album About Love . 1983 followed with Save the Overtime (for Me), the first R&B number one hit since 1974. The accompanying album Visions received gold. The work Life , published two years later, flopped against it and Columbia ended the collaboration. In the same year Gladys Knight was a guest singer alongside Elton John and Stevie Wonder on Dionne Warwick 's US number one hit That’s What Friends Are For .
Two years later, the album All Our Love, developed with a large number of producers, was released by MCA - it was to be Gladys Knight & the Pips' last work. With Love Overboard , the group celebrated another big hit in 1988. The single reached the top 20 of the pop and number one on the R&B charts and was also very successful in the clubs of the time. There was also a Grammy award . Despite these successes, Gladys Knight finally separated from the Pips in 1989 and continued solo. Bubba Knight, Patten and Guest retreated behind the scenes of show business. Bubba Knight still performs now and then and released the single Rock on (Vegas City) in 2018 .
There was a brief reunion in 1996 when Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Edward Patten was already ill at this point and could only receive the award in a wheelchair. He died on February 25, 2005 at the age of 65 from a stroke that he suffered as a result of his long-standing diabetes. William Guest died on December 24, 2015 at the age of 74 from complications from heart failure . The founding member Elenor Guest died in 1997.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1967 | Everybody Needs Love Soul 706 |
- |
US60 (24 weeks) US |
R&B12 (26 weeks) R&B |
First published: September 1967
Producer: Norman Whitfield |
| 1968 | Feelin 'Bluesy Soul 707 |
- |
US158 (13 weeks) US |
R&B12 (21 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1968
Producer: Norman Whitfield |
| 1969 | Silk n 'Soul Soul 711 |
- |
US136 (16 weeks) US |
R&B11 (24 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 1968
Producer: Norman Whitfield |
| Nitty Gritty Soul 713 |
- |
US81 (10 weeks) US |
R&B11 (21 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1969
Producer: Norman Whitfield |
|
| 1971 | If I Were Your Woman Soul 731 |
- |
US35 (26 weeks) US |
R&B4 (25 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1972 | Standing Ovation Soul 736 |
- |
US60 (24 weeks) US |
R&B11 (22 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 1971
Producers: Clay McMurray, Johnny Bristol |
| 1973 | Neither One of Us Soul 737 |
- |
US9 (30 weeks) US |
R&B1 (32 weeks) R&B |
First published: February 1973
Producers: Clay McMurray, Johnny Bristol, Joe Porter, Dino Fekaris, Nick Zesses, Hal Davis |
| All I Need Is Time Soul 739 |
- |
US70 (21 weeks) US |
R&B14 (23 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1973
Producers: Clay McMurray, Johnny Bristol, Joe Porter, Hal Davis |
|
| Imagination Buddah 5141 |
- |
US9  (61 weeks)US |
R&B1 (53 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1973
Producers: Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise, Tony Camillo |
|
| 1974 | Knight Time Soul 741 |
- |
US139 (11 weeks) US |
R&B29 (11 weeks) R&B |
First published: March 1974
Producers: Clay McMurray, Johnny Bristol, Joe Porter, Joe Hinton, Al Kent |
| Claudine Buddah 5602 |
- |
US35 (34 weeks)US |
R&B1 (34 weeks) R&B |
||
| I Feel a Song Buddah 5612 |
UK20th  (15 weeks)UK |
US17th (41 weeks)US |
R&B1 (34 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1974
Producers: Burt Bacharach , Tony Camillo, Ralph Moss, Bubba Knight, Edward Patten, Gladys Knight, William Guest, Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise, Bill Withers |
|
| 1975 | 2nd Anniversary Buddah 5639 |
- |
US24 (16 weeks)US |
R&B4 (15 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1975
Producers: Eugene McDaniels, Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise |
| 1976 | Pipe Dreams Buddah 5676 |
- |
US94 (12 weeks) US |
R&B16 (12 weeks) R&B |
First release: November 1976
Soundtrack for the film of the same name Producers: Bubba Knight, Dominic Frontiere |
| 1977 | Still Together Buddah 5689 |
UK42 (3 weeks) UK |
US51 (21 weeks) US |
R&B18 (14 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1977
Producers: Charles Kipps, Van McCoy , Jerry Peters, Tony Camillo |
| 1978 | The One and Only ... Buddah 5701 |
- |
US145 (6 weeks) US |
R&B30 (7 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1978
Producers: Bruce Hawes, Charles Kipps, Michael Masser , Rina Sinakin, Van McCoy, Richie Wise, Tony Camillo |
| 1980 | About Love Columbia 36387 |
- |
US48 (18 weeks) US |
R&B5 (23 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1980
Producers: Ashford & Simpson |
| 1981 | Touch Columbia 37086 |
- |
US109 (8 weeks) US |
R&B22 (39 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1981
Producers: Ashford & Simpson, Gladys Knight |
| 1983 | Visions Columbia 38205 |
- |
US34 (33 weeks)US |
R&B3 (53 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1983
Producers: Edmund Sylvers, Joey Gallo, Rickey Smith, Bubba Knight, Gladys Knight, Sam Dees, Richard Randolph, William Zimmerman, Wilmer Raglin |
| 1985 | Life columbia 39423 |
- |
US126 (12 weeks) US |
R&B31 (22 weeks) R&B |
First published: March 1985
Executive Producer : Larkin Arnold |
| 1987 | All Our Love MCA 42004 |
UK80 (1 week) UK |
US39 (27 weeks)US |
R&B1 (34 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1987
Executive Producer: Bubba Knight, Gladys Knight |
literature
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd Revised Edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 378-380 - ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 404-407.
Web links
- Gladys Knight & the Pips at Allmusic (English)
- Gladys Knight & the Pips at Discogs (English)
- Gladys Knight & the Pips in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Top R&B Singles 1942-1995, 1996 ISBN 0-89820-115-2
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1999, 2000, page 895, ISBN 0-89820-140-3
- ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Gladys Knight & the Pips in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- ↑ Gladys Knight And The Pips - Every Beat Of My Heart. Accessed December 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Gladys Knight in the Süddeutsche interview: “Motown was the hottest place in the music business” ( Memento of the original from May 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ The Richard Pryor Show - The Pips (without Glady Knight). Accessed December 1, 2019 (German).
- ^ Rock on (Vegas City). Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Billboard: Pips Member Edward Patten Dies, February 25, 2005, accessed January 4, 2016
- ^ New York Times: William Guest, Longtime Member of Gladys Knight and the Pips, Dies at 74, December 28, 2015, accessed January 4, 2016
- ↑ Chart sources: Singles Albums UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
