Gladys Knight

Gladys Maria Knight was born on May 28, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia. She began singing gospel music at age four at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church. At the age of eight, she won the grand prize on Ted Mack’s “The Original Amateur Hour” TV show, singing Nat King Cole’s “Too Young.” The following year, she formed a group with her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight, sister Brenda, and cousins Eleanor and William Guest. The quintet was named The Pips, inspired by the nickname of their cousin and manager, James “Pip” Woods. The group signed with Brunswick Records in 1957 and released their first album in 1960. Knight released her first hit single, “Every Beat of My Heart,” at age 16. Her early career was briefly interrupted when she departed to start a family, but she soon returned to the group.

Gladys Knight & the Pips joined Motown Records in 1966. While initially regarded as a secondary act, they achieved significant success with hit singles such as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (number one, 1967), “The Nitty Gritty” (1969), “If I Were Your Woman” (1970), and the Grammy Award-winning “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” (1972). In 1973, the group moved to Buddah Records, where they found even greater mainstream success with hits like the Grammy-winning “Midnight Train to Georgia” (number one on pop and R&B charts), “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” In 1974, they recorded the soundtrack for the film “Claudine” with Curtis Mayfield, which included songs like “On and On.” The group continued to produce hits until the late 1970s, at which point legal issues led Knight to record two solo LPs: “Miss Gladys Knight” (1978) on Buddah and “Gladys Knight” (1979) on Columbia Records. Reunited with the Pips, they signed with Columbia Records in 1980, releasing “About Love” (1980) and “Touch” (1981). In 1983, they scored another hit with “Save the Overtime (For Me),” which reached number one on the R&B chart. Their final album as a group, “All Our Love,” was released in 1987 on MCA Records, featuring the number-one R&B hit “Love Overboard,” which also earned the group another Grammy. Following a successful 1988 tour, the Pips retired, and Knight embarked on her solo career.

As a solo artist, Gladys Knight continued her success. In 1985, she collaborated with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the AIDS benefit single “That’s What Friends Are For,” a number-one hit that won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. In 1989, she recorded “Licence to Kill,” the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name, which was a Top-10 hit in the UK and Germany. Her third solo LP, “Good Woman,” released in 1991, hit number one on the R&B album chart and featured the track “Superwoman.” Her fourth solo album, “Just for You,” went Gold and received a Grammy nomination in 1995. In 2000, her fifth solo album, “At Last,” earned her first solo Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Album.