![]() Two years later, she released her 1991 album, Good Woman, which included the top five R&B hit, 'Men', and Grammy-nominated duet version of 'Superwoman', recorded with Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle. On “Claudine,” Mayfield placed the group back in a sophisticated funk context, as crystallized in the hit “On and On,” which appeased the group’s black fan base. Gladys Knight recorded the theme song for the James Bond film, Licence to Kill in 1989, which became a top ten single in the UK. But the touches of psychedelic funk on their latter Motown hits, courtesy of producer Norman Whitfield, were gone, supplanted by tasteful orchestrations, hallmarks of pop production in the early 1970s. Their vocal approach was largely unchanged from the Motown days. Knight & the Pips were strategic with “Imagination” and “Claudine.” The former was an ideal marriage of their gospel-soul roots and slick pop ambitions. In the four decades since their commercial peak, those first three Buddah albums have held up well, particularly “I Feel a Song,” an effort that, despite its commercial success, tends to get overlooked in the group’s vast discography. A demanding concert and recording schedule didn’t deter Knight & the Pips from releasing high-quality material and scoring major hits in the process. ![]() The momentum continued with two albums released in 1974: the “Claudine” soundtrack, produced by Curtis Mayfield, came out in March, and “I Feel a Song” hit the streets in November. Suddenly, the classy soul group from the Peach State was the top pop act in the country. It spawned three gold-selling singles: “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” and “Midnight Train to Georgia,” an across-the-board chart-topper and Grammy winner. They were guaranteed creative freedom and marketing muscle, all of which they received as their debut album for the label, “Imagination,” sold more than a million copies. They signed with Buddah Records, a label with a diverse pop background. ![]() That year proved to be a blockbuster for the group. By that time, the company’s roster already brimmed with megastar performers: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Four Tops, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye.ĭespite their second-tier status at Motown, Knight & the Pips scored major hits, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Daddy Could Swear (I Declare),” “If I Were Your Woman” and “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong.” At a label that prided itself on repackaging black music for white America, the quartet kept things decidedly funky, with Knight’s grit-and-silk vocals scorching every song she touched with gospel fire.īy 1973, Knight & the Pips had had enough of Motown, declining to renew their contract as one of their last singles for the label, “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye),” soared to the top of the pop and R&B charts and won a Grammy. The Atlanta family group consisting of Knight, her brother Bubba and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest signed with the legendary Detroit label in 1966. E-Pilot Evening Edition Home Page Close Menuĭuring their seven years at Motown, Gladys Knight & the Pips were never treated as a top-shelf act. ![]()
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