Gladys Knight. Photo by Derek Blanks
What’s your favorite song? Or at least, one in your top 10? I’m going to hear one of mine live for the first time ever next week, and I’ve got chills thinking about it. This is because Gladys Knight has a show at Merrill Auditorium on March 11.
For me, favorite songs act like the North Star; they’re anchors to both my childhood and my entire love of music. Listening to a favorite song always makes me happy and reminds me of what the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote so long ago: “Without music, life would be a mistake.”
“Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & The Pips is one of these songs. I’ve never not known it. From Knight’s glorious vocals to the Pips backing ones, especially on the line “A superstar, but he didn’t get far,” the song is the stuff that music dreams are made of. It’s perfect.
So when I heard a few months ago that Knight was gracing our state with her presence in March, I jumped on tickets and snagged fourth-row seats. Then, after I calmed down (OK, I haven’t calmed down at all), I reached out to Knight’s team to request an interview. They responded with the news that Knight doesn’t give phone interviews but she was open to responding to written questions, and so I composed a list and sent them off, fingers crossed.
While I waited, I listened to hours of music and scoured gladysknight.com, where I learned that Georgia-born and longtime Las Vegas resident Knight has been singing since she was 4 years old and has recorded more than 38 albums.
A few days later, I received Knight’s responses.
There is much to say about Knight’s storied career, including her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with her numerous hit songs. Knight is also an author, actor, restaurateur and philanthropist.
By the time she was 8, her mother Elizabeth formed a group with Gladys, her brother Bubba, her sister Brenda and her cousins William and Elenor Guest. They were called The Pips as an homage to their cousin and manager James Pip Woods. A few years later, in 1959, the group was renamed Gladys Knight & The Pips, and a year later the debut album was released. Knight was 16. The first time they hit the charts was with “Every Beat of My Heart.”
Gladys Knight & The Pips signed to Motown Records in 1966 and the following year had a smash hit with their take on “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The song has since been covered by many other artists including Marvin Gaye and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Her other hits with The Pips and as a solo artist include “Take Me In Your Arms and Love Me,” “The Nitty Gritty,” “If I Were Your Woman,” “Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” and, of course, “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Knight was also part of the supergroup that recorded the benefit song “That’s What Friends Are For,” which won a Grammy in 1996.
When asked about “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Knight turned the attention to its creator, the late Jim Weatherly.
“He was a great songwriter, and I am so honored to have worked with him and have a friendship with him,” she wrote, noting her appreciation for him changing the lyrics to better reflect the lives of the musicians who first performed it.
I had to dig into this and learned that Weatherly’s original version was “Midnight Plane to Houston,” based on a conversation he had with Farrah Fawcett who mentioned she was taking that flight. Gospel singer Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney), who requested the change in destination and mode of transportation, released the song in 1972, then Gladys Knight & The Pips took it to No. 1 on the charts in 1973.
Knight still loves singing it and said she always feels pure gratitude when performing it.
I asked Knight if we can expect to hear other hits, like her Bond theme song “License to Kill.” She said the setlist changes often, but she always tries to include all the hits and songs she knows most resonate with her fans. She wouldn’t single out any as the one she likes best.
“Just like my children, they’re all special in their own way, and I couldn’t pick a favorite,” Knight wrote, with a smile emoji.
Lastly, I asked Knight if there’s anything she’s working on or would like to draw attention to, and she did not disappoint. Knight said she’s very excited that her dear friend Questlove has been nominated for an Oscar for the music documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).”
“I know it was a very personal project for him, and I was honored to be a part of it both when it happened and in the documentary,” she said.
“Summer of Soul” was released earlier this year, and it’s about the incredible 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival held in Mount Morris Park over a span of six weeks. Performers included The Staple Singers, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, Sly and the Family Stone and Gladys Knight & The Pips, among several others.
The film is phenomenal, and I will be shocked if it doesn’t win on March 27 for best documentary feature. The performances are jaw-dropping and I am in awe of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for making sure the archival footage gets the spotlight it deserves.
In the film, you’ll see Gladys Knight & The Pips play “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” and more than five decades later, the performance still bursts with raw energy and is electrifying.
There are several clips of present-day Knight talking about the experience of the Harlem Cultural Festival. “When I stepped on stage, I was totally taken aback because I didn’t expect a crowd like that,” she says in the film. Knight also talks about how back then she and several other Motown artists like Martha and the Vandellas and The Temptations all lived in the same neighborhood.
Knight says she knew something very important was happening in Harlem that day, and it wasn’t just about the music. “We wanted progress. We’re Black people and we should be proud of this.”
Be sure to see “Summer of Soul.” It’s important and the performances will shake you to your core.
Be sure also to grab tickets soon for Knight’s show at Merrill because they’re starting to dwindle.
I can’t wait to see her walk out on that stage or for the moment I hear the first few notes of “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
As the song says, dreams don’t always come true. But sometimes they do.
Gladys Knight
8 p.m. March 11. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $65 to $95 reserved seating. statetheatreportland.com
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