Gladys Knight

“Empress of Soul”. You can keep your “King of Rock’n’Roll”, “Lord of the Dance”, and “Pop Princess”, is there a nickname in music that sounds as deliciously regal as “Empress of Soul”? I really don’t think there is. It’s the kind of name that’s earned, not bestowed, and when the woman it describes is Gladys Knight, there’s no-one who it fits better.

Her first taste of fame came when she was a mere seven years of age. She won a TV Talent show contest, namely Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour in 1952, the following year she formed a musical group with her brother, sister and cousins who christened themselves The Pips. By the end of the decade they were touring together and they were signed to Motown by 1966.

At this point in time it was rare for a band to be so incredibly experienced live. Even The Beatles, famed for cutting their teeth in their residencies in Hamburg and the Cavern, had only spent three years regularly performing live. Knight and The Pips however, had over a decade’s experience by this point and it showed.

According to her memoirs, she and The Pips were kicked off a tour opening for Diana Ross and The Supremes because they were upstaging Ross night after night and getting a better reception from the crowd. While arguably a second tier Motown act they still had considerable success on the label, with songs like the first released version of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and the Grammy winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)".

Come 1973 however, they left for a better deal at Buddha records, where her first single was the monster hit “Midnight Train to Georgia”. Worked out pretty well for her, eh? It wasn’t just the music world she was conquering, as Knight made her acting debut in the 1976 film Pipe Dreams, that saw her get a Golden Globe nomination for Best New Actress.

Since then she’s recorded with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Elton John, along with recording the theme for the 1989 James Bond film Licence To Kill. While her work today might focus more on her church and philanthropy than that electrifying voice, if anyone’s earned the right to take a break now and again, it’s her. Also, if she does take to the road once more, you can bet that she’s be absolutely peerless.