Gladys Knight & the Pips was an American R&B, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s.
Starting as simply The Pips in 1952, derived from a cousin’s nickname, the founding members were Gladys Knight, brother Merald “Bubba” Knight, sister Brenda Knight and cousins Eleanor Guest and William Guest.
Are any of the Pips still living?
On August 23, 1997, original Pips member Eleanor Guest died of heart failure. Langston George died on March 19, 2007, from congestive heart failure. Bubba Knight continues to oversee his sister’s career, by being her tour manager and occasionally joining Gladys onstage during performances.
Gladys Knight recorded the theme song for the James Bond film, Licence to Kill in 1989, which became a top ten single in the UK. Two years later, she released her 1991 album, Good Woman, which included the top five R&B hit, “Men”, and Grammy-nominated duet version of “Superwoman”, recorded with Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle.
