![]() ![]() Gladys Knight and The Pips scored a major hit on the charts for Motown with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” in 1967, which was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966. RELATED STORY: Remembering the doo-wop sounds that rang from every urban street corner It was a big hit at what I’ll call “blue-lights in the basement hooky parties” in my neighborhood. Though they recorded “Every Beat of My Heart” in 1961, the song always reminds me of earlier doo-wops from the 1950s. ![]() In 1960, the group produced their first Rhythm and Blues (R&B) Top-20 hit in 1961 with a version of Johnny Otis's "Every Beat of My Heart," which attracted national attention and moved to number six on the R&B charts in July of 1961. By then, the group expanded to include cousins Edward Patten and Langston George along with Gladys, Bubba and William Guest Brenda Knight and Guest had left the group to be married. ![]() Gladys Knight and the Pips toured nationally with Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke before Gladys was 13, but their 1957 recording debut with Brunswick went nowhere. The group started out singing at supper clubs and for their congregation. Knight’s Musicians Guide bio continues after the 1953 creation of The Pips-a group of Knight’s siblings and cousins, named for cousin James “Pip” Wood. With over 160 stories (and counting) covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack, I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new. Join me!īlack Music Sunday is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music. Seven days seems about right, so while Knight finishes up her 78th year, I’m going to be playing her tunes every day this week-starting today. Given the amazing amount of music she has recorded-with The Pips, as a soloist, and with other music greats-it’s just not possible to properly celebrate her on just one day. Born on May 28, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, the Empress celebrates her 79th birthday next Sunday. Knight, dubbed “The Empress of Soul,” has been singing her heart out and capturing the love of audiences around the globe for over seven decades, since the age of seven. That list includes seven Grammys, induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center Honors, and a National Medal of Arts. Seven seems to be a very lucky number for Gladys Knight-who has had an amazing career in music, with a discography to match her list of awards and honors. ![]()
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