The Pips

The Pips Band members: Gladys Knight, Merald “Bubba” Knight, Edward Patten, William Guest, Brenda Knight, Eleanor Guest, Langston George
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Biggest Hit Singles: The Way We Were, number four, 1975, Baby Don’t Change Your Mind, number four, 1977, Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me, number seven, 1975 Career Highlights: Grammy Award winners, inducted into Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame in 1996, Lifetime Achievement Award from Rythym & Blues Foundation, 1998

The Pips, once Gladys Knight And The Pips, were one of the longest running R&B groups in history, with a career spannning from 1953 to 1989. They are best known for a string of hit singles from 1967 to 1975 including the spine-tingling I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Midnight Train to Georgia.

Gladys first started working with the Pips in 1952 when she was only eight, and formed a quintet with her brother Merald, her sister Brenda, and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest. At first the group's main purpose was entertaining family and friends, but another cousin, James “Pip” Woods, encouraged the quintet to sing professionally and became its booking agent.

Signed to Motown, and then Buddha Records, the group had hit single after hit single in America, and spent 187 weeks in the British charts, with eight Top 20 singles.

In the early 80s Gladys went solo and The Pips retired from music. Such a shame!