Essential Gladys Knight Albums

Gladys Knight & the Pips spent the first half of the ’60s recording for various labels, landing their first national hits in 1961 with the romantic ballads “Every Beat of My Heart” and “Letter Full of Tears.” After taking a break to start a family, Gladys rejoined the group and signed a seven-year deal at Motown Records in 1966. Their first album for the label, Everybody Needs Love, officially put the Atlanta quartet on the map. 

Before masterminding far-out psych-soul for The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, and Rare Earth, in-house Motown wunderkind Norman Whitfield and songwriter partner Barrett Strong produced some of the label’s swingy, hard-hitting cuts. Their 1967 classic, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” was the perfect storm for Gladys: a zesty jam buoying her fierce voice and the Pips’ vocal interplay with the song’s driving groove. While labelmate Marvin Gaye recorded his downbeat hit version months before the Pips’ version and released it to even greater success one year later. “Grapevine” became the group’s biggest Motown hit and one of their signature cuts.

By this time, it seemed as if Gladys Knight and the Pips were in a holding pattern, mostly covering songs from the Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong songbook that were already made popular or about to be hit singles for other top-billing Motown acts. Yet, they proved they could hold their own on their second Motown release, 1968’s Feelin’ Bluesy. 

Throughout the diverse 12-song set, they convincingly pull off swinging readings of “The End of Our Road,” “That’s the Way Love Is,” and “Don’t Let Her Take Your Love From Me” with that gorgeous Motown sound, courtesy of the house band, the Funk Brothers. The album’s best song is the group’s poignant cover of Kim Weston’s wedding bells blues “It Should’ve Been Me,” which was later covered by unsung Motown singer Yvonne Fair on her 1975 classic, The Bitch is Black. Another album highlight, “Don’t Turn Me Away” is a tearjerker replete with Gladys’ gritty, emotive pleads.

Despite having the best songwriters at his disposal, Motown boss Berry Gordy had a difficult time furthering the momentum of Gladys and the Pips’ growing popularity by this point. Rather than pouring energy into original material with the aid of these maestros, he opted for the group to record a collection of covers for their third Motown album, 1968’s Silk N’ Soul. 

At 12 tracks, Silk N’ Soul displayed Gladys’ versatility with covers, kicking off with a bold take of The Temptations’ weepy ballad, “I Wish It Would Rain.” Gladys and the Pips also tackled Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears,” the Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Lovin’,” and a standout version of Brenda Holloway’s “Every Little Bit Hurts,” in which Gladys gives an expressive take that may well rival Holloway’s original.

As the times changed, the sounds of R&B got funkier and hippier. Norman Whitfield was one of the premier figures who helped push Motown into the psychedelic era. His raw, wildly heady sonic touches are felt all over Gladys Knight and the Pips’ fifth Motown album, 1969’s Nitty Gritty. Hearing Gladys spinning her down-home Southern grit into two great Ashford and Simpson compositions — the gospel-flavored love drama, “Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometimes)” and the bluesy scandal about a best friend’s betrayal, “Keep an Eye” — is mesmerizing. 

Elsewhere, Gladys digs into the pain of a woman witnessing her man marrying another on her cover of Etta James’ “All I Could Do Was Cry.” But this album will forever be remembered for its two Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong-penned singles: the love, peace, and harmony thumper, “Friendship Train” and the funky title track, an exquisite cover of Shirley Ellis’ nursery rhyme-esque slice of soul.

The two key cuts that drive Gladys Knight and the Pips’ seventh Motown offering, 1971’s If I Were Your Woman, “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong” and the titular track, are irresistible. The former is one of the group’s greatest slow burners, a show-stopper co-written by Gladys, her brother, Bubba, and cousin William Guest — the Pips’ first writing credit. The latter came about after its writers, Pam Swayer and Gloria Jones had a lunchtime conversation about the women’s liberation movement and the role women play in romantic relationships. Their conversation sparked them to write the lyrics of “If I Were Your Woman,” which finds Gladys stepping into the theme of unrequited love with her gospel-charged vocal performance. 

Initially, Gladys was put off by the song’s meaning, interpreting it to be a woman’s shameless pursuit of a married man. Motown boss Berry Gordy was certain it would be a hit and pressured her to record it. He was right, as the song topped Billboard’s R&B singles chart and reached number nine on its pop chart.

No one can bring up great break-up songs without mentioning Gladys and the Pips’ almost-title track to their 1972 Motown farewell, Neither One of Us. “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” is a true ’70s sophisticated soul classic — a bittersweet, electric piano-led ballad perfectly suited to Gladys’ vocal style. She begins singing in a conversational mode, and then as the low-key ballad builds into a tearjerker, so does her pained delivery. 

Another album highlight, “This Child Needs Its Father” is a rare dip into social commentary with bluesy, opulent strings, while the group covers Bill Withers’ “Who Is He (And What Is He To You)” in a tight Sly Stone-ish funk style. Although the group would go on to score bigger triumphs in the mid-70s on the Buddah Records label, it’s clear that the combination of torch ballads and stompers on this overlooked gem planted the seeds for what was about to come.

Gladys and the Pips prepared to win the crossover success they longed for once they jumped ship to Buddah Records in 1973. Their debut for the label, Imagination, became the group’s commercial high. Mississippian football player turned songwriter Jim Weatherly’s homey touch is all over the album. Among the five of nine songs he penned was the album’s most remembered hit and the group’s million-selling signature song, “Midnight Train to Georgia.” A rework of a country song that began its life as “Midnight Train to Houston,” this emotionally filled tale of a man who was down on his luck and the woman who loved him was originally recorded by Cissy Houston in 1972. But Gladys and the Pips took it to another level with their down-home spunk and dazzling call-and-response interplay.

Imagination provided the group with three further R&B chart-toppers that highlighted their range: the pounding “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” is a scorching, percussive piece with a rock edge accentuated by its orchestrated arrangement as well as Gladys’ wailing voice. The album’s lead single, “Where Peaceful Waters Flow,” is a tearjerker powered by the group’s gospel inflections. A gold seller, Imagination set a new plateau for the group, marking the start of another chapter in a career filled with milestones and success.

As one of the most prolific and respected songwriters and producers of his time, Chicago soul master Curtis Mayfield rose as a titan whose pointed social commentary and style left a huge imprint on the soul landscape. His movie-scoring gifts proved equally rewarding — his groundbreaking 1972 soundtrack for the gritty drug lord drama Super Fly became the biggest success of his career. He gave it another shot with Gladys and the Pips for the 20th Century Fox film Claudine, starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones. 

The Claudine soundtrack was a no-frills soul delight. Gladys’ gutsy vocals in “Mr. Welfare Man” echoed the titular character’s real-life struggle during a time when economic equality failed to match the supposed civil liberties won by Blacks a few years prior. Poignant highlights, “To Be Invisible” and “The Makings of You” were two compositions that Mayfield already cut on his own, but Gladys brought a warm tenderness to them with her gospel-imbued charm.

1974’s I Feel a Song is a diverse offering that, despite its commercial success, usually gets overlooked in Gladys Knight and the Pips’ vast catalog, but it’s no less rewarding. In continuing the chart-topping momentum of 1973’s Imagination and the Curtis Mayfield-helmed Claudine soundtrack, the group arrived at the middle of the road with I Feel a Song, cushioning their deep soul harmonies with a tastefully lush orchestrated sound that stood as a hallmark of pop production in the early-to-mid ’70s. 

Many singers would’ve been reluctant to tackle a signature song from one of pop’s icons, Barbara Streisand. But Gladys was up for the task with her stirring reading of “The Way We Were/Try to Remember,” offering up a personable freshness. The album’s other treat was Bill Withers’ two contributions, “Better You Go Your Way” and “Tenderness Is His Way,” which makes one wish that the group would’ve enlisted him to produce an entire album for them during their heyday.

Gladys and the Pips endured several ups and downs as the ’70s rolled on. The family group’s association with Buddah Records seemed to reach a commercial nadir, as the band had failed to produce hits. Due to contractual disputes with Buddah and Motown, the group splintered. But they resurrected their glory when they signed with CBS Records in 1980. Produced by their trusted Motown cohorts Ashford & Simpson, the group released their  highly anticipated reunion album, About Love.

The breezy “Landlord” became one of the group’s biggest hits since their ’70s peak on Buddah Records, while the swirling disco of “Bourgie’, Bourgie’” featured biting lyrics on the new era’s self-involved ideals that almost sound like it was written by CHIC founders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The rest of the album contained other fine R&B cuts, like the ballads, “We Need Hearts,” “Add It Up,” and “Still Such a Thing.”

R&B had come a long way by the time the ’80s swung around. Gone was the gospel-drenched style of the ’60s and ’70s. In vogue were synthesized grooves and mechanical beats. With over 20 years in the game, Gladys and the Pips heeded the changing times with 1983’s Visions. Helmed by a bevy of leading R&B producers of the day with fresh ’80s soul verve, Gladys was in good company. Among the crew was ace producer-songwriter Leon Sylvers III. He supplied Gladys and the Pips with a #1 R&B hit with “Save the Overtime (For Me),” a zesty club number that put Gladys’ swaying vocals and the Pips’ snappy backgrounds in a beat-dominated ’80s setting. 

Gladys Knight scored more hits with the Pips, including their Grammy-winning 1987 MCA single, “Love Overboard” and later, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Since the late ’80s, she’s gone on to further her respected solo career, in which she’s embraced R&B, pop, jazz, modern dance, and gospel styles, No matter what musical journey lies ahead for the 80-years young soul legend, her golden voice makes her eternally number one in our book.