Gladys Knight & the Pips were signed by Berry Gordy in early 1966 and added to the Soul Records roster. Gladys Knight wasn’t too keen on taking up Gordy’s offer, as she felt that the Pips would be overshadowed by the big-name Motown stars, but the Pips disagreed, and they joined.
Like the Four Tops, they brought with them a lot of experience, having started out simply called The Pips in 1955 in their home-town, Atlanta, Georgia, when Gladys was just eleven years old. The original members of the Pips were Gladys Knight, her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight, her sister Brenda Knight and two cousins Eleanor and William Guest. They built a reputation through singing in local talent contests and signed for Brunswick Records in 1957. After their first two singles failed to make any impact, Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest left in 1959, to be replaced by Edward Patten, another cousin, and a non-family member Langston George. The new line-up had the group’s first hit in 1961 with “Every Beat of My Heart”, which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. It has the curious distinction of being released on three different labels, thanks to a dispute over ownership and leasing rights.
The follow-up also sold well. “Letter Full of Tears” reached number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and number three on the Billboard R&B chart.
Things looked set fair, but progress stalled, when George left the group and Gladys Knight left to start a family in 1962, returning in 1964 to sign for Larry Maxwell’s Maxx Records. Their three Maxx singles failed to chart, but they worked with Cholly Atkins during this period developing their performance skills. When Atkins accepted a contract at Motown, he insisted on being allowed to continue to work with Maxx artists the Pips.
In 1966, Maxwell was offered a job as manager of national promotions at Motown, so decided to bring Gladys Knight & the Pips (as the group were now called) with him. During their career so far, they had released ten singles, two albums and an EP, but Berry Gordy wanted to see how good they were. He assigned them to work with producer Harvey Fuqua, and their first recordings in studio A were made. Their first release on the Soul label came in September, with a song credited to H. Mastor and K. Miller, better-known as the Lewis sisters. Helen and Kay Lewis were sisters from the West Coast, who had recorded a series of novelty songs. By 1965 they had begun working with Motown producers Hal Davis and Marc Gordon as backing vocalists and songwriters.
The sisters’ song “Just Walk In My Shoes” was chosen for the A-side by producers Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, backed by “Stepping Closer To Your Heart”, co-written and produced by Harvey Fuqua and Marvin Gaye. The single made it to number one hundred and twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, but did well in the UK, peaking at number thirty-five on the UK Official Pop Singles Chart. That wasn’t good enough for Berry Gordy, but the group requested that the Andantes not be added for their next recording, as they felt the Pips’ harmonies were being swamped. What was clear, however, was that Knight had a great Soul voice!
Gladys Knight & the Pips’ album “Everybody Needs Love” was issued in September. It was master-minded by Norman Whitfield, offering a collection of up-tempo songs and slower ballads, written by various Motown songwriting teams. The album reached number sixty on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart and number twelve on the Billboard Soul & R&B Albums Chart. It features their 1966 single “Just Walk In My Shoes” and three more songs that were released as singles in 1967. “Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me” appeared in March, but only reached number ninety-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, despite being one of the best songs on the album. It was more popular in the UK, reaching number thirteen on the UK Official Pop Singles Chart. The follow-up in June was the title track “Everybody Needs Love”, which performed better, peaking at number thirty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number three on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart but failed in the UK.
Then in September came a breakthrough with the release of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. The song had been written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966 and given to the Miracles. They duly recorded it but the track wasn’t released until 1968, when it appeared on the album “Special Occasion”. The Miracles version, produced by Smokey Robinson, is medium-paced, with the opening bass line familiar from Marvin Gaye’s cover. However, the vocal is delivered without much drama.
Gladys Knight & the Pips dispensed with the opening and upped the tempo, with a much funkier arrangement thanks to Norman Whitfield. The single sold over two and a half million copies, Motown’s most successful single at that time, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. In the UK it only reached number forty-seven on the UK Official Pop Singles Chart. The quality evident in 1966 had finally brought the success the group deserved. They seemed ready to move into the top division of artists at Motown, alongside the Supremes and the Temptations.
