Knight was born in Atlanta to postal worker Merald Woodlow Knight Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth (née Woods). She has an older sister named Brenda, a living brother named Merald “Bubba” Jr., and a deceased brother named David. She sang in the church choir throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. She won Ted Mack’s The Original Amateur Hour TV show contest when she was eight years old in 1952.
Gladys, her brother Bubba, her sister Brenda, and their cousins Eleanor and William Guest began performing together that same year after a record player malfunctioned at Bubba’s tenth birthday party. Gladys’ mother, Elizabeth Knight, persisted in convincing the quintet to form a band.
They chose the name The Pips after their cousin James “Pip” Woods’ nickname. By 1955, the group had entered the Atlanta talent show circuit and had won every show they entered. In 1957, their success earned them a record contract with Brunswick Records.
The group released two albums at Brunswick that did not chart. Regardless, the group was now opening for top R&B acts like Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. Brunswick dropped the group by 1959, and Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest both left The Pips to start families. Another cousin, Edward Patten, and a friend, Langston George, took their place.
Is Gladys Knight related to Aaliyah?
Gladys Knight, the legendary soul singer best known for various hits with her group the Pips, is Aaliyah’s aunt through her marriage to Aaliyah’s uncle, Barry Hankerson. Knight and Hankerson married in 1974, five years before Aaliyah was born.
