Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight (born May 28, 1944, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.) is an American singer and actress known as the “Empress of Soul,” who was the lead vocalist for the popular rhythm-and-blues (R&B) group Gladys Knight and the Pips. She established a successful solo career in both gospel and R&B music and also acted in films and television shows.
Knight is one of four children born to postal worker Merald Knight, Sr., and Sarah Elizabeth Knight (née Woods). She sang in her church choir growing up and won a televised talent contest on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour in 1952 when she was seven years old. Not long after this early success, she started performing in a vocal group with her brother Merald (“Bubba”) Knight, Jr., sister Brenda Knight, and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest. The group named themselves the Pips after the members’ cousin and first manager, James (“Pip”) Woods.
The Pips were signed to a record label and had success performing live and opening for soul music legends such as Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. Brenda and Eleanor left the group and were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and Langston George. The group soon changed its name to Gladys Knight and the Pips, which reflected Knight’s role as lead vocalist. It was also a credit to her distinctive raspy voice and compelling stage presence. In 1961 the group charted its first single, “Every Beat of My Heart,” written by Johnny Otis.
The group signed with Motown in 1966 and released a series of hit songs, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1967). The members gave a riveting performance of the song at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969 (which is captured in the 2021 documentary film Summer of Soul). In 1974 the group’s hit song “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” won the Grammy Award for best pop vocal performance by a duo, group, or chorus.
Disputes with Motown over the treatment that the group was receiving, including accusations that the best songs were being given to the label’s other talent and issues regarding unpaid royalties, led the singers to leave Motown for Buddah Records in 1973. Under Buddah, the group released what became known as its signature song, “Midnight Train to Georgia,” which won the Grammy for best R&B performance by a duo, group, or chorus in 1974. This ushered in a string of hits in the 1970s, including “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” (1973). Knight finished the decade by recording two solo albums, Miss Gladys Knight (1978) and Gladys Knight (1979).
In the 1980s the group teamed up with producers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson for the albums About Love (1980) and Touch (1981). The group had a number of hits throughout the decade, including the Grammy-winning “Love Overboard” (1987). In 1985 Knight sang on the AIDS charity single “That’s What Friends Are For,” which also featured Elton John, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder. The single won the Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group in 1987. In 1988 Gladys Knight and the Pips disbanded. (They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.)
Knight continued to record and tour as a solo artist. In 1989 she recorded the title song of the James Bond film Licence to Kill. One of her most commercially successful solo albums was Good Woman, released in 1991. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B album chart and featured the hit single “Men.” For her album At Last (2000), she won her first solo Grammy, for best traditional R&B vocal album. She also began recording gospel music and serving as a choir director. Her gospel duet with Ray Charles, “Heaven Help Us All,” won the Grammy in 2005 for best gospel performance. The following year she won another Grammy, for best gospel choir or chorus album, for One Voice, which she also produced. A studio album, Where My Heart Belongs, was released in 2014. She performed at several major sports events in her hometown of Atlanta, including during the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games and the national anthem portion of the Super Bowl in 2019.
Knight made her film acting debut in 1976 as the lead in the film Pipe Dreams, starring alongside her then husband, Barry Hankerson. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for new star of the year. From 1985 to 1986, she starred opposite comedian Flip Wilson in the television series Charlie & Co. She also had a recurring role on The First Family and appeared as a guest on many other series, including The Jeffersons, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Empire. In 2012 she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Some of her later films include Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009) and I’m Glad It’s Christmas (2022).
Knight published her memoir, Between Each Line of Pain and Glory, in 1997. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995 and the National Medal of Arts in 2021. She was named a Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honoree in 2022.