Gladys Knight Informations

Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and author. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her group Gladys Knight and the Pips, which also included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Edward Patten and William Guest.

Knight has recorded two number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles ("Midnight Train to Georgia" and "That's What Friends Are For"), eleven number-one RandB singles, and six number-one RandB albums. She has won seven Grammy Awards (four as a solo artist and three with the Pips) and is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with The Pips. She also recorded the theme song for the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill. Knight is also listed as one of Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Knight was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Merald Woodlow Knight Sr., a postal worker, and Sarah Elizabeth (née Woods). She has a sister, Brenda, one living brother, Merald Jr. and one deceased brother, David. 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 RandB 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".

Gladys Knight and the Pips joined the Motown Records roster in 1966 (while the band had no "sure hit"), and, although initially regarded as a second-string act, 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). In their early Motown career, Gladys Knight and the Pips toured as the opening act for Diana Ross and The Supremes. Gladys Knight stated in her memoirs that Ross kicked her off the tour because the audience's reception to Knight's soulful performance overshadowed her. Berry Gordy later told Knight that she was giving his act a hard time.

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 RandB 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. 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.

During this period of greater recognition, Knight made her motion picture acting debut in the film, Pipe Dreams, a romantic drama set in Alaska. The film failed at the box-office, but Knight did receive a Golden Globe Best New Actress nomination.

Knight and the Pips continued to have hits until the late 1970s, when they were forced to record separately due to legal issues, resulting in Knight's first solo LP recordings—Miss Gladys Knight (1978) on Buddah and Gladys Knight (1979) on Columbia Records. Having divorced James Newman II in 1973, Knight married Barry Hankerson (uncle of future hip/hop, RandB singer Aaliyah), then Detroit mayor Coleman Young's executive aide. Knight and Hankerson remained married for four years, during which time they had a son, Shanga Ali. Upon their divorce, Hankerson and Knight were embroiled in a heated custody battle over Shanga Ali.

In the early 1980s, Johnny Mathis invited Knight to record two duets—"When A Child Is Born" (previously a hit for Mathis) and "The Lord's Prayer".

Signing with Columbia Records in 1980 and restored to its familiar quartet form, Gladys Knight and the Pips began releasing new material. The act enlisted former Motown producers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson for their first two albums: About Love (1980) and Touch (1981). During this period, Knight kicked a gambling addiction to the game baccarat.

In 1983 Gladys Knight and the Pips scored again with the hit "Save The Overtime For Me". The song, under the artistic direction of Leon Sylvers III (known for collaborating on Shalamar hits), was done in a soulful boogie style. The single was released from their LP "Visions" and reached number sixty-six on the Hot 100, but was more successful on the RandB where it hit number one for a single week in mid 1983. The single was the first time the group hit number one on the RandB chart since 1974.

In 1987 Knight decided to pursue a solo career and she and the Pips recorded their final LP together, All Our Love (1987), for MCA Records. Its infectious lead single, "Love Overboard", was a number-one RandB hit and won another Grammy for the act as well. After a successful 1988 tour, the Pips retired and Knight began her solo career. Gladys Knight and the Pips were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

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 "Licence to Kill" for the James Bond movie Licence to Kill, a Top 10 hit in the UK and Germany.

On March 27, 1988, Gladys performed a rendition of America the Beautiful at Wrestlemania 4 in Atlantic City, NJ.

Gladys released her third and most successful solo LP, Good Woman, on MCA in 1991. It hit No. 1 on the RandB album chart and featured the No. 2 RandB hit "Men". It also reached No. 45 on the main Billboard album chart—her all-time-highest showing. The album also featured "Superwoman", written by Babyface and featuring Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle. The track was also nominated for a Grammy Award. Knight and LaBelle would collaborate the same year on "I Don't Do Duets", a duet with Patti LaBelle from LaBelle's album Burnin'.

Also in 1991, Gladys performed the national anthem at Game 1 of the World Series.

Her fourth solo LP, Just for You, went Gold and was nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for Best RandB Album.

Knight created and now directs the Mormon-themed choir Saints Unified Voices. SUV has released a Grammy Award-winning CD titled One Voice, and occasionally performs at LDS church firesides.

In April 2004, Knight performed during the VH1's benefit concert Divas Live 2004 alongside Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Jessica Simpson, Joss Stone, and Patti LaBelle, in support of the Save the Music Foundation.

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