Gladys Knight & The Pips – The Hits 1973-1985 2X Gatefold LP Vinyl (United Souls)

2LP set with 19 classic tracks from one of the most beloved singers of all time in one of the greatest soul acts.

Gladys Knight & the Pips remain, without doubt, one of the greatest acts of the soul era. With powerful lead vocals supported by ultra-smooth harmonies delivering a catalogue of hits, their mark on the charts alone is impressive enough. Add in their remarkable fashions, memorable choreography & collaborations with some of the greatest songwriters of all time, and you have the definition of iconic artist right there.

Breaking through in the late 50’s on Jackie Wilson’s Brunswick label, first serious chart success came soon after signing to Buddah in 1973 and the release of a Jim Weatherly number, ‘Where Peaceful Waters Flow’. Their second release for Buddah took them into the pop stratosphere. ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ another Weatherly composition landed them a US No.1 and UK No.10 hit.

And then classic hit after classic hit flowed. ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ (Weatherly), ‘Baby Don’t change Your Mind’ (Van McCoy), ‘Make Yours a Happy Home’ (Curtis Mayfield), ‘Baby, Baby Don’t Waste My Time’ and ‘Bourgie’ Bourgie” (both Ashford & Simpson) all feature here among many others as a slice of the group’s huge repertoire.

After the group amicably disbanded in 1989 Gladys continued to record and perform, including her joining the select band of superstars to have performed a James Bond theme, with her unmistakable ‘Licence to Kill’. Still performing solo to this day, “The Georgia-born ‘Empress of Soul’ reigns supreme,” wrote The Times of Gladys as recently as 2019. But it will be group’s golden era from the early-70’s to the mid-80s catalogued here that Gladys Knight & the Pips will always be most fondly, and recognisably remembered.

‘The Hits 1973-1985’ is released on 2LP Gatefold through United Souls, a Snapper Music label.