| The David Nathan Pages |
GLADYS KNIGHT: SOUL PERFECTION IN PERSON November 1972, In person interview conducted by David Nathan in London Gladys Knight & The Pips had long been favorites among the soul fraternity in Britain. Once they signed with Motown in 1965, the family group began enjoying its first taste of British chart success with "Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me," which was not a U.S. hit single. In 1972, the group made their second visit to Britain and with a UK hit single in "Help Me Make It Through The Night" to their credit, the quartet performed at the famous London Palladium before a packed audience... A concert review was included in this article first published in November 1972 (c) 2007, David Nathan/SCI Enterprises, All rights reserved |
It’s a very rare treat to meet an artist whose work you admire and whose in-person appearances you find exciting and who on top of all
this is just as wonderful as you hope they’ll be. But that is the good fortune in store for anyone who has the pleasure to meet the very
soulful Miss Gladys Knight. Indeed, she is easily one of the most charming ladies it’s ever been my privilege to meet and she gives out
exactly the same warmth and exuberance she lets out on stage. Meeting her, you find that it’s all very, very real, and in fact, Gladys is a
very real and down-to-earth person, who’s both considerate and enormously interesting to talk with.
Making what is only her second ever trip to the country with the Pips (brother Merald “Bubba” Knight, and cousins William Guest and
Edward Patten), Gladys has been more than happy with the reaction she’s met wherever she’s been on her present tour. Knowing that
the group hasn’t enjoyed the kind of chart success it should have had in the country, she was more than surprised at the tremendous
response she got at the November 5 Palladium concert, and she has nothing but praise for the smooth way everything’s been handled
during the trip. Indeed, all in all. Gladys and The Pips have enjoyed very considerable success in every venture they’ve tackled this year
since coming under the helm of Sidney Scidleberg’s S.A.S. Management company who are also responsible for B.B.King. “Everything’s
gone so well and we no longer feel as if were out there banging our heads against a wall – everything we do is now noted and
publicized” says Gladys.
But things haven’t always been as smooth for the group, who’ve now remarkably been together for close on twenty years. Gladys and
the group do not forget their humble beginnings in Atlanta, Georgia, their home town and the struggles they’ve had to get where they
are today virtually at the pinnacle of their profession. Their recording career began back in 1961 with a series of more or less fraudulent
deals involving the group’s “Every Beat Of My Heart”. Initially, they were pacted with Fury Records for whom they cut “Letter Full Of
Tears” and “Operator” and when Gladys left the group to give birth to her son, The Pips enjoyed solo success with a tune called
“Darling”. Around about early 1963 the group were pacted with Maxx Records an independent company owned by their friend Larry
Maxwell and then-manager Marguerite Mays. Under the distribution of Amy-Mala-Bell Records. Maxx enjoyed several hits with the group
including several Van McCoy tunes – such as “Giving Up” and “Lovers Always Forgive” and their one and only Maxx album was a
much-treasured item by those soul lovers who managed to get it. It was later issued by Bell under the title “Tastiest Hlts” both here and
in the States. The future of the group with Maxx however was marred by friction between the company and Bell over the group and
when contract time came up. Gladys and The Pips made their move over the Motown in 1965. Gladys recalls frankly that she wasn’t too
sure about that being the right move at the time – but since everything’s done democratically within the group – she lost. Her worries
stemmed from the fear that the group would simply get lost in such a vast complex and indeed, at the outset it looked very much as if
that would be the case.
Their initial release for the company “Just Walk In My Shoes” didn’t do too much in the States although it established itself as something
of a disco classic here to the point where it was recently re-issued by Motown here. The follow-up. “Take Me In your Arms and Love Me”
did provide she group with their first British hit although again record success in the States eluded them.
Several producers worked with the group Gladys recalls – Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol. Ivy Hunter and Norman Whitfield to name
just a few. It was the latter gentleman who really helped put the group on the map record wise with “I Heard It ThroughThe Grapevine”
the 1967 smash which struck gold for the group. Although it’s been alleged that Marvin Gaye was the first to record it. Gladys couldn’t
substantiate that but she revealed that the backing track used on his version was for a song called “Restless” that the group were going
to do at one state possibly as a follow-up to “Grapevine”....
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| GLADYS KNIGHT 1972 Interview and Concert Review (GK-72-2007) Conducted by David Nathan, (c) 2007, David Nathan/SCI Enterprises |
LIVE….
...Even before the curtain was raised the audience were ready you could almost see the tension mount as the strains of
their famous “Giving Up” heralded the imminent appearance of the group. Getting everything going with the funky “Nitty
Grifty”. It wasn’t too long before everyone sat completely spellbound as Gladys poured her heart and soul into such
classics as “Every Beat Of My Heart” their hit from 1961 and the ultra-soulful million selling “If I Were Your Woman”. After
hearing the kind of response that got the mind boggles as to just why it wasn’t massive hit in this country. Allowing The
Pips to demonstrate fully their exceptional choreography came “Heavy Makes You Happy” and “Just Walk In My Shoes”
the group’s initial Motown single.
...Even before the curtain was raised the audience were ready you could almost see the tension mount as the strains of
their famous “Giving Up” heralded the imminent appearance of the group. Getting everything going with the funky “Nitty
Grifty”. It wasn’t too long before everyone sat completely spellbound as Gladys poured her heart and soul into such
classics as “Every Beat Of My Heart” their hit from 1961 and the ultra-soulful million selling “If I Were Your Woman”. After
hearing the kind of response that got the mind boggles as to just why it wasn’t massive hit in this country. Allowing The
Pips to demonstrate fully their exceptional choreography came “Heavy Makes You Happy” and “Just Walk In My Shoes”
the group’s initial Motown single.