Gladys Knight

Gladys Knight is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author. She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, the most famous incarnation of which also included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest.

Gladys Knight & the Pips joined the Motown roster in 1966, and, although regarded as a second-string act, scored several hit singles, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Friendship Train", "If I Were Your Woman", "I Don't Want To Do Wrong", the Grammy Award winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", and "Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)". In their early Motown career Gladys Knight and the Pips toured as the opening act for Diana Ross and The Supremes.

The act achieved full-fledged success in 1973 with hits such as the Grammy-winning "Midnight Train to Georgia", "I've Got to Use My Imagination," and "You're the 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.

Knight and the Pips continued to have hits until the late 1970s. Knight's first solo LP recordings were-Miss Gladys Knight in 1978 and Gladys Knight in 1979. In the early 1980s, Johnny Mathis invited Gladys to record two duets, "When A Child Is Born" and "The Lord's Prayer". Gladys Knight & the Pips would reunite together and began releasing new material in 1980. The act enlisted former Motown producers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson for their first two LPs--About Love and Touch.

In 1987, Knight decided to pursue a solo career, and she and the Pips recorded their final LP together, All Our Love. Its lead single, "Love Overboard", was a successful hit and won a third Grammy for the act as well. After a successful 1988 tour, the Pips retired and Knight began her solo career. Gladys Knight & 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, Knight joined with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the 1986 AIDS benefit single, "That's What Friends Are For" which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. In 1989, Gladys Knight recorded the title track for the James Bond movie Licence to Kill, a top 10 hit both in the UK, reaching #6, and Germany.

Knight's third solo LP, Good Woman, was released by MCA in 1991. It rose to #1 on the R&B album chart and featured the #2 R&B hit "Men". The album also featured "Superwoman" featuring Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle. Knight and LaBelle would collaborate the same year on "I Don't Do Duets", a duet with Patti LaBelle from LaBelle's album Burnin'. Her fourth solo LP, Just for You, went gold and was nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.

In 2005, a duet between Knight and Ray Charles of "You Were There" was released on Charles' duets album Genius & Friends.

In 2008, a duet between Knight and Johnny Mathis was released on Mathis' album A Night to Remember. Knight is ranked number eighteen on VH1 network's list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock.

In the spring of 2008, Knight appeared alongside Chaka Khan, Patti Labelle and Diana Ross at the 'Divas with Heart' concert in aid of cardiac research, at New York's Radio City Hall.

In 2009, Knight sang "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" and "The Lord's Prayer" at the funeral service for Michael Jackson. In October 2009, Gladys started her farewell tour of the United Kingdom which featured Tito Jackson as her supporting act and special appearances by Dionne Warwick.

On December 21, 2010, Knight released the single "Settle" on iTunes and Amazon. In September 2011, a new, updated recording of I (Who Have Nothing) was released on iTunes and Amazon.