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. Later in 1961, the newly christened quintet released the single, "
Letter Full of Tears", which became another top 40 hit in early 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.
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. '' advertisement, November 4, 1967 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, 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.
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. "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. Two years prior, Guest and his sister, Dame Dhyana Ziegler, PhD, released his autobiography, ''Midnight Train FROM Georgia: A Pip's Journey'' (Branden Books, Boston, MA, USA), about his life and career. In 2007, Bubba Knight and Guest, along with a third man, Neil Taffe (one of Gladys Knight's background singers), appeared in a commercial for
Geico. On August 23, 1997, original Pips member Eleanor Guest died of heart failure. Langston George died on March 19, 2007, from congestive heart failure. Bubba Knight still continues to oversee his sister's career, by being her tour manager and occasionally joining Gladys onstage during performances. Gladys Knight recorded the theme song for the
James Bond film,
Licence to Kill in 1989, which became a top ten single in the UK. Two years later, she released her 1991 album,
Good Woman, which included the top five R&B hit, "Men", and Grammy-nominated duet version of "Superwoman", recorded with
Dionne Warwick and
Patti LaBelle. A 1994 album,
Just for You, featured the hits "I Don't Wanna Know" and her cover of
Boyz II Men's "End of the Road", and went gold. Knight still records and performs today. As a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she sometimes leads the
Saints Unified Voices choir. The group was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1998. Gladys Knight & the Pips are ranked as the ninth most successful act in
The Billboard Top 40 Book of R&B and Hip-Hop Hits (2005). They were also ranked number 91 on
VH1's ''Top 100 Artists of Rock n' Roll''. In June 2006, Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted into the
Apollo Theater's Hall of Fame in New York City. In 2017 the group was inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. ==Members==