Gladys Knight American soul singer Date of Birth: 28.05.1944 Country: USA

Biography of Gladys Knight

Gladys Maria Knight, an American soul singer, was born on May 28, 1944, in Atlanta. At the age of seven, she won the final of the popular TV show "Original Amateur Hour" thanks to her very powerful voice. The following year, she, her brother, sister, and cousins formed a musical group called "The Pips". By the end of the 1950s, the group began touring, replacing two members with Edward Patten and Langston George. In 1962, their single "Every Beat of My Heart" was released, immediately skyrocketing to the top of the charts. The group was renamed "Gladys Knight & the Pips" and continued their creative work as a quartet. After their second hit in 1962, "Letter Full of Tears," Gladys got married to a saxophonist and gave birth to a son, Jimmy, and two years later, a daughter, Kenya.

From 1966, "Gladys Knight & the Pips" had several more hits, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1967), "The Nitty Gritty" (1969), "Friendship Train" (1969), "If I Were Your Woman" (1970), "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" (1971), "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" (1972), and "Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)" (1973). In 1973, the group changed their record company and achieved great success with singles such as "Midnight Train to Georgia" (which won a Grammy Award), "I've Got to Use My Imagination," and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me". After divorcing her husband, Jimmy Newman, Gladys remarried theatrical producer Barry Hankerson in 1976. They were married for about three years, during which they had a son named Shanga Ali. After the birth of her son, Gladys starred in her husband's film "Pipe Dreams," for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

In the 1970s, due to legal problems, Gladys and her group were forced to record separately. During that time, the singer released her first solo albums, "Miss Gladys Knight" (1978) and "Gladys Knight" (1979). In the early 1980s, Gladys recorded duets with her friend Johnny Mathis, such as "When A Child Is Born" and "The Lord's Prayer," which became Christmas hits. Their songs "Save the Overtime (For Me)" (1983) and Grammy-winning "Love Overboard" (1987) topped the charts.

After a successful tour in 1988, the group "Gladys Knight & the Pips" disbanded, and Gladys began her solo career. In 1996, "Gladys Knight & the Pips" were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1986, Gladys recorded the single "That's What Friends Are For" with Stevie Wonder and Elton John for a campaign against AIDS. The song won a Grammy Award. In 1989, she released the title track "License to Kill" for the James Bond film of the same name. "License to Kill" reached the top ten in the UK and Germany.

In 1991, her third solo album, "Good Woman," was released. The album reached number one in R&B charts, and the hit "Men" reached the second spot on the charts. Her fourth solo album, "Just for You," went gold and earned a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Album" in 1995.

In 1999, tragedy struck the singer's family when her eldest son, Jimmy, passed away in his sleep at the age of 36.

Her new albums, "At Last" and "Before Me," achieved well-deserved success.

Among Gladys Knight's recent achievements are a Grammy Award for her duet with Ray Charles, "Heaven Help us All," and a second Grammy Award for her album recorded with a choir.