| Artist: Gladys & The Knight |
| Format: | CD |
Product Details:
Song Listing
Album Notes and Credits
Notes & Personnel Info |
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Arrangers: Paul Riser; Wade Marcus. |
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Over the course of her career, Gladys Knight shifted from straight soul to disco to adult-contemporary music, but some of her finest work has been in the vein of smooth R&B. After a successful tenure with Motown Records, Knight and her backing vocal group, the Pips, moved to Buddah Records in the early 1970s, where they recorded some of their strongest material. Buddah/Legacy's LOVE SONGS cherry picks the act's romantically themed songs, including the smash singles "Midnight Train to Georgia" and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me." |
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Knight's elastic, gospel-influenced embellishments stretch all over these compositions, and her rich, resonant alto voice cuts straight to the soul. The tight-knit accents of the Pips frame her singing, as do lavish string and horn arrangements. Knight also had the good fortune to perform material by some of the era's finest songwriters--including Bill Withers ("Tenderness Is His Way"), Curtis Mayfield ("The Makings of You"), and Ashford & Simpson ("A Friend of Mine")--and LOVE SONGS offers an excellent cross section of that material as well. The resulting set works as a sampler of Knight's '70s and early-'80s Buddah output, as well as a soundtrack for a cozy, intimate evening at home. |
Producer: Clay McMurray; Joe Porter; John Bristol; Harvey Fuqua; Joe Hinton; Norman Whitfield; Harry Weinger (Compilation) |
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Compilation Appearances
Associated Artists and Works
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Benton, Brook |
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Brandy |
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John, Elton |
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Reeves, Martha |
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Duets II ~ Sinatra, Frank |
Technical Info
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Release Date : 01/27/2009 |
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Original Release Date : 2005 |
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Catalog ID : 001245602 |
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Label : Motown (Record Label) |
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Number of Discs : 1 |
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Studio/Live : Studio |
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SPAR Code : n/a |
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UPC : 00602517936522 |
Bio
Gladys Knight and the PipsGladys Knight (b. 28 May 1944, Atlanta, Georgia, USA), her brother Merald "Bubba" (b. 4 September 1942, Atlanta, Georgia, USA), sister Brenda and cousins Elenor Guest and William Guest (b. 2 June 1941, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) formed their first vocal group in their native Atlanta in 1952. Calling themselves the Pips, the youngsters sang supper-club material in the week, and gospel music on Sundays.
They first recorded for Brunswick Records in 1958, with another cousin of the Knights, Edward Patten (b. 2 August 1939), and Langston George making changes to the group line-up the following year when Brenda and Elenor left to get married. Three years elapsed before their next sessions, which produced a version of Johnny Otis' "Every Beat of My Heart" for the small Huntom label. This song, which highlighted Knight's bluesy, compelling vocal style, was leased to Vee Jay Records when it began attracting national attention, and went on to top the US R&B charts.
By this time, the group, now credited as Gladys Knight and the Pips, had signed a long-term contract with Fury Records, where they issued a re-recording of "Every Beat of My Heart" which competed for sales with the original release. Subsequent singles such as "Letter Full of Tears" and "Operator" sealed the group's R&B credentials, but a switch to the Maxx label in 1964 - where they worked with producer Van McCoy - brought their run of successes to a halt. Langston George retired from the group in the early 60s, leaving the line-up that survived into the 80s.
In 1966, Gladys Knight and the Pips were signed to Motown Records' Soul subsidiary, where they were teamed up with producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield. Knight's tough vocals left them slightly out of the Motown mainstream, and throughout their stay with the label the group were regarded as a second-string act. In 1967, they had a major hit single with the original release of "I Heard it Through the Grapevine", an uncompromisingly tough performance of a song that became a Motown standard in the hands of its author Marvin Gaye in 1969. "The Nitty Gritty" (1968) and "Friendship Train" (1969) proved equally successful, while the poignant "If I Were Your Woman" was one of the label's biggest-selling releases of 1970.
