Gladys Knight
R&B Legend, Gladys Knight Was Born On This Day, In 1944, In Atlanta, Georgia.
She Gained Fame As A Singer In 1952, At Age 7, By Winning Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour TV Show Contest.
In 1953 She, Her Brother, Merald, Sister, Brenda, And Cousins, William And Elenor Guest, Formed A Group Called The Pips. Brenda And Elenor Were Eventually Replaced By Cousins, Edward Patten And Langston George (George Left The Group In 1962).
By 1961, Gladys Knight And The Pips Had Their First 1 R&B Hit, "Every Beat Of My Heart," On Vee-Jay Records. Their Second Hit, "Letter Full Of Tears," Charted In 1962.
By 1966 Knight And Her Cousins Had Joined
Motown Records. While Not Considered One Of Motown's Premier Groups, Gladys & The Pips Had A String Of Hits Including "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (1967), "The Nitty Gritty" (1969), "Friendship Train" (1969), "If I Were Your Woman" (1970), "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" (1971), Grammy Award Winner, "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)" (1972), And "Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)" (1973).
It Should Also Be Noted That While Diana Ross Is Credited With Introducing The Jackson 5 To America, Gladys Knight Is Responsible For Bringing The Group To The Attention Of Motown Executives.
In Order To Receive More Recognition Knight Left Motown And Signed With Buddah Records In 1973. The Hits Continued With Another Grammy Winner "Midnight Train To Georgia," "I've Got To Use My Imagination" And "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me."
During The 1980's Gladys Knight Continued To Record With The Pips And As A Solo Artist.
She Had Number One Hits With "Love Overboard" And "Save The Overtime For Me."
In 1986 She Joined Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder And Elton John, On The AIDS Benefit Single, "That's What Friends Are For."
Gladys Knight And The Pips Were Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In 1996. Knight Has Received Several Individual Honors Including:
The 18th Most Successful Female Recording Artist Of All Time (2005 Guinness Book Of Word Records)
A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame (1995)
Recipient Of The BET Lifetime Achievement Award
Honoree At Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball, An Event Recognizing The Accomplishments Of African American Women.
Gladys Knight Is Also A Successful Entrepreneur. She Owns The Gladys Knight & Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles Restaurant, In Atlanta, GA And Largo. Maryland.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
