Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B/soul/funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades.
Gladys Maria Knight, known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and author. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which also included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten.
Buddah Records was an American record label founded in September 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding. Buddah handled a variety of music genres, including bubblegum pop, folk-rock (Melanie), experimental music, and soul.
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a single in September 1967. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and shortly became the biggest selling Motown single to date.
Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and of the late-1960s subgenre of psychedelic soul.
Surrender is the third studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on July 6, 1971 by Motown Records. The album saw her reuniting with writer-producer team Ashford & Simpson who had overseen her self-titled debut album in 1970. As with Diana Ross, some of the tracks that Ross recorded with the duo had previously been recorded by other Motown artists, including Gladys Knight & The Pips, Rita Wright, and the Four Tops.
John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.
Claudine is a Gladys Knight & the Pips album, written and produced by Curtis Mayfield. The disc is the soundtrack album for the 1974 20th Century Fox motion picture Claudine, starring James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll. The album was released in March 1974 on the Buddah label.
Imagination is the eleventh studio album recorded by American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in October 1973 on the Buddah label. The album, the group's first for Buddah after leaving Motown, includes their first and only Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "Midnight Train to Georgia", which also reached number-one on the R&B singles chart. Larry Wilcox was credited for the string and horn arrangements.
I Feel a Song is the thirteenth studio album recorded by American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in November 1974 on the Buddah label. It was their third overall album for Buddah.
2nd Anniversary is the fifteenth studio album recorded by American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in October 1975 on the Buddah label. It was their fourth overall album for Buddah.
"Giving Up" is a popular song written by Van McCoy that was introduced by Gladys Knight & the Pips with an April 1964 single release.
"Neither One of Us " is a song recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Released on December 26, 1972 on Motown's Soul Records imprint as S 35098, it became one of their biggest hit singles to date, and was also the last single the group released prior to them leaving Motown for Buddah Records in February 1973.
The One and Only is the eighteenth studio album recorded by the American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in August 1978 on the Buddah label. It was their eighth and final album recorded for Buddah.
The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by Gladys Knight and The Pips, released on Motown Records, catalogue MOTD 0826, in October 1997. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by Ruth Adkins Robinson.
Paul Riser is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the "Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of the other "Brothers", as his career has been overlooked and overshadowed by the stars of Motown that became household names. Some of the Funk Brothers he worked with include: Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, Robert White, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey, Wah Wah Watson, James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Watkins, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Andrew Smith, Jack Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Benny Benjamin, Cornelius Grant, Joe Hunter, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie, Marcus Belgrave, Teddy Buckner and Stevie Wonder.
Joe Porter is a record producer and songwriter. As a producer, he has produced Thelma Houston, Lynne Randell, Rare Earth, Bobby Darin, O.C. Smith and many others. Porter is also responsible for the orchestral disco version of "Bandstand Boogie" for the television show American Bandstand. He is married to percussionist Bobbye Hall.
All I Need Is Time is the tenth studio album by American R&B quartet Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in June 1973 by Motown Records on the Soul Records label.
Gladys Knight is the self-titled second studio album by American singer Gladys Knight. It was released by Columbia Records in 1979 in the United States. Her only album with that label, it peaked at number 71 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Gladys Knight would remain Knight's last solo album until the 1991 release of Good Woman.
Visions is an album by the American soul group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in 1983.
