Gladys Knight and The Pips

Best known for Midnight Train To Georgia, Gladys Knight And The Pips achieved unusual longevity with their distinctively soulful sound that switched the musical emphasis of Motown towards an R&B hybrid and had enduring influence on other groups. Raised in Atlanta, Gladys Knight was a child star, winning Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour TV show contest at the age of seven and forming The Pips with her brother Bubba, sister Brenda and cousins William and Brenda Guest. Two more cousins Langston George and Edward Patten subsequently replaced Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest as they went on to have their first hit with the Johnny Otis song Every Beat Of My Heart in 1961. Langston George quit the group soon after and then the Pips continued without Gladys when she took time out to have a family. In need of money she returned in 1964 to front the group, although it wasn't until they were signed to Motown in 1966 that they achieved international success. Their breakthrough came with I Heard It Through The Grapevine, which reached Number 2 in the US pop charts and, selling 2.5 million copies, became Motown's all-time best seller (later overtaken by Marvin Gaye's version). They went on to enjoy many other hits, including The Nitty Gritty, If I Were Your Woman and Neither One Of Us, before moving further towards R&B and switching from Motown to Buddah Records. It resulted in even greater successes with a series of Jim Weatherly songs, notably the Number 1 hit, Midnight Train To Georgia; and they continued to have hits into the 1980s. A contractual dispute led to Gladys recording separately to The Pips for a while before splitting permanently as Gladys' solo career took off. Their last release together was the All Our Love album and a farewell world tour through 1988.