First Knight

Gladys Knight & The Pips Steeped in the gospel tradition like so many early R&B groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips topped the Billboard R&B chart for the first time in 1961 with "Every Beat of My Heart" and later in the decade developed into one of Motown's most dependable acts, responsible for 11 Top Ten R&B hits from 1966 through 1972, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "The Nitty Gritty," "If I Were Your Woman," and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)."

Gladys Knight & The Pips Steeped in the gospel tradition like so many early R&B groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips topped the Billboard R&B chart for the first time in 1961 with "Every Beat of My Heart" and later in the decade developed into one of Motown's most dependable acts, responsible for 11 Top Ten R&B hits from 1966 through 1972, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "The Nitty Gritty," "If I Were Your Woman," and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)."

Digitally remastered two CD set containing the two solo albums - plus bonus tracks - recorded by the legendary Gladys Knight in the late '70s. Aside from two obscure '60s singles, Gladys' name had never appeared as a solo performer until 1978. From the early '60s, with family group Gladys Knight & The Pips, she attained international recognition over a period of seventeen years.

Some Gladys Knight fans think that she didn't record as a solo artist until the early 1990s. But In fact, her first solo albums came in the late 1970s, when she provided 1978's Miss Gladys Knight for Buddah and 1979's Gladys Knight for Columbia. The singer's second, and self-titled, solo album is a generally decent effort that ranges from R&B/adult contemporary ballads to up-tempo soul-disco offerings. This release is Expanded with 9 Bonus Tracks, five of which are Un-Released Tracks from this album's recording sessions. A must have for all Gladys Knight fans.

Gladys Knight & The Pips Steeped in the gospel tradition like so many early R&B groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips topped the Billboard R&B chart for the first time in 1961 with "Every Beat of My Heart" and later in the decade developed into one of Motown's most dependable acts, responsible for 11 Top Ten R&B hits from 1966 through 1972, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "The Nitty Gritty," "If I Were Your Woman," and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)." The group doubled its quantity of Top Ten R&B hits with the Buddah label through 1978, with second Grammy winner "Midnight Train to Georgia," "I've Got to Use My Imagination," and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" accounting for a streak of chart-toppers off the gold-selling album Imagination. Knight & the Pips remained together through the '80s, a period that entailed the additional R&B Top Ten entries "Landlord," "Save the Overtime (For Me)," and the Grammy-winning "Love Overboard," and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following decade. Having released her first two Pips-less albums during the late '70s, Knight began a full-time solo career during the early '90s.

Steeped in the gospel tradition like so many early R&B groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips topped the Billboard R&B chart for the first time in 1961 with "Every Beat of My Heart" and later in the decade developed into one of Motown's most dependable acts, responsible for 11 Top Ten R&B hits from 1966 through 1972, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "The Nitty Gritty," "If I Were Your Woman," and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)." The group doubled its quantity of Top Ten R&B hits with the Buddah label through 1978, with second Grammy winner "Midnight Train to Georgia," "I've Got to Use My Imagination," and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" accounting for a streak of chart-toppers off the gold-selling album Imagination. Knight & the Pips remained together through the '80s, a period that entailed the additional R&B Top Ten entries "Landlord," "Save the Overtime (For Me)," and the Grammy-winning "Love Overboard," and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following decade.

Some Gladys Knight fans think that she didn't record as a solo artist until the early 1990s. But In fact, her first solo albums came in the late 1970s, when she provided 1978's Miss Gladys Knight for Buddah and 1979's Gladys Knight for Columbia. The singer's second, and self-titled, solo album is a generally decent effort that ranges from R&B/adult contemporary ballads to up-tempo soul-disco offerings. This release is Expanded with 9 Bonus Tracks, five of which are Un-Released Tracks from this album's recording sessions. A must have for all Gladys Knight fans.

Gladys Knight & The Pips Steeped in the gospel tradition like so many early R&B groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips topped the Billboard R&B chart for the first time in 1961 with "Every Beat of My Heart" and later in the decade developed into one of Motown's most dependable acts, responsible for 11 Top Ten R&B hits from 1966 through 1972, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "The Nitty Gritty," "If I Were Your Woman," and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)." The group doubled its quantity of Top Ten R&B hits with the Buddah label through 1978, with second Grammy winner "Midnight Train to Georgia," "I've Got to Use My Imagination," and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" accounting for a streak of chart-toppers off the gold-selling album Imagination. Knight & the Pips remained together through the '80s, a period that entailed the additional R&B Top Ten entries "Landlord," "Save the Overtime (For Me)," and the Grammy-winning "Love Overboard," and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following decade. Having released her first two Pips-less albums during the late '70s, Knight began a full-time solo career during the early '90s.

"The One and Only" is a studio album recorded by the American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in August 1978 on the Buddah label. It was their eighth and final album recorded for Buddah. The first single, "Sorry Doesn't Make It Right", was released in late 1977 and peaked at #24 on the R&B singles chart. Three more singles were released, including the title song, "The One and Only", "Come Back and Finished What You Started" and "It's a Better Than Good Time". They only achieved moderate success on the charts, with "It's a Better Than Good Time" reaching #16 on the R&B chart and "Come Back and Finish What You Started" peaking at #15 on the UK Singles Chart. None of the singles made the Billboard Hot 100.

Soul singer Jean Knight's only big hit was a monster – the sassy funk classic "Mr. Big Stuff," one of the largest-selling singles ever released by the legendary Stax label. A native of New Orleans, Knight was born in 1943 and made her first recordings for producer Huey P. Meaux's Jet Stream and Tribe labels during the mid- to late '60s. Her success largely confined to the immediate area, Knight was working as a baker when she went to Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi, for a session with veteran producer Wardell Quezerque in 1970. The key track, a spirited putdown of male arrogance called "Mr. Big Stuff," was shopped to Stax Records, which passed on it at first. However, after King Floyd's "Groove Me" (another Malaco recording) went gold, Stax reconsidered and released "Mr. Big Stuff" in 1971. It was an enormous hit, spending five weeks at number one on the R&B charts and falling one slot short of the same position on the pop side.