Nothin' But the Music - Track 4.5

                In 1989, after the “Love Overboard Tour” ended, Gladys Knight told her brother and cousins that she wished to perform and record as a solo artist.  With a hit single and high-energy tour to serve as a grand finale, Gladys Knight & the Pips ended their career as a group.  Merald “Bubba” Knight remains with his sister’s team, as her opening act, frequent duet partner, and business leader (he’s also a natural-born comedian).  William Guest and Edward Patten entered other business ventures but joined the rest of the group to perform on a very few later occasions.  Here, though, I want to pay tribute to some of Gladys Knight's superb musical work without the backing of the Pips:

-That’s What Friends Are For – Even before 1989, Gladys Knight did some recording apart from the Pips.  In 1985, her good friend Dionne Warwick brought her together with Elton John and Stevie Wonder to record this, now, timeless classic which originally served to raise funds for AIDS awareness and research.  The song was, naturally, a big hit to Warwick’s credit but is commonly found in Gladys Knight’s concert lineup as well.

-License to Kill – Before recording any solo albums, one of the first things that Gladys did as a solo artist was to add herself to the exclusive club of vocalists who have sung the theme of James Bond’s film existence.  In 1989, her rich, soulful voice was the perfect accompaniment to “License to Kill.”  Though she has spoken about the disturbing nature of the concept of a license to kill and alluded to the notion that she might not have signed on to that particular Bond theme if she had it to do over, Gladys has included it in her stage shows over the years and still gives it the power that she did in the original film track.

-Superwoman – To open the 1990s, her first decade as a solo artist, Gladys put out the album “Good Woman” which featured this powerful semi-feminist anthem sung as a trio.  With friends like Patti LaBelle (who also has a song on the “License to Kill” soundtrack) and Dionne Warwick backing her up, who couldn’t love this song?

-Next Time – After cutting her solo teeth on the “Good Woman” album, Gladys delivered 1994’s “Just For You” album which opened with this smooth, modern R&B tune with a good beat and lyrics that are slightly reminiscent of her older hits.

-End of the Road Medley – As a solo artist, Gladys Knight’s greatest vocal performance may be found in a complete collection of covers.  The “Just For You” album ends with this nearly 12-minute-long combination recitation and medley in which Gladys starts by giving her history of R&B music, followed by a sampling of the kinds of love songs she misses a la Harold Melville and the Blue Notes and the Spinners.  But, from those songs, she leads into a celebration of a return to such tunes by Boyz II Men and goes into her rendition of their hit “End of the Road.”  Though very different from the original recording, Gladys creates a version that matches it in quality and tops it as a soulful tour de force.  By the end of that album, if your car or house windows aren’t open, they will be by the end of this medley.

P.S. - Though there is quite a treasury of Gladys Knight's musical work without the Pips, that is not to say that there is no evidence of the Pips without Gladys Knight.  In 1977, they made a hilarious appearance on the short-lived "Richard Pryor Show."  And, years after the end of Gladys Knight & the Pips as a group, GEICO recruited two of the Pips (Edward Patten was no longer performing after suffering a stroke) along with one of Gladys' later backup singers to recreate that classic Pip motif.