Song:Every Beat Of My Heart
Album:Essential Collection
Most music fans are familiar with Gladys Knight & The Pips hits like Midnight Train To Georgia. But you may not know that they scored a top ten hit with Every Beat Of My Heart in 1961. It was their very first chart single and back then they were called The Pips. The Pips were a family group from Atlanta. Gladys Knight was seven years old when she won Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in 1952. With her mother egging her on, Gladys formed The Pips with brother Merald "Bubba" Knight, sister Brenda Knight and cousins Eleanor and William Guest. Pip was the nickname of cousin James Woods. After a couple of unsuccessful singles for Brunswick, Brenda and Eleanor left to start families. They were replaced by another cousin Edward Patten and his friend Langston George who had been in a group together. In 1961, they recorded a cover of the Johnny Otis song Every Beat Of My Heart for the small Huntom label who sold it to Vee-Jay and it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Pips moved to New York. They were still looking for a record deal. After an audition, Bobby Robinson signed them to his Fury label and had them re-record Every Beat Of My Heart because The Pips weren't making any money from the Vee-Jay release. it also charted but not as high as the first recording. The group name was changed to Gladys Knight & The Pips. They recorded four singles for Fury. Letter Full Of Tears was a top 20 hit. George left The Pips and Gladys started a family with husband Jimmy Newman. He became the group's musical director. After recording for labels like Maxx, Enjoy and Columbia, Gladys Knight & The Pips signed with Motown's Soul label in 1966 with the help of legendary choreographer Cholly Atkins. At first Gladys thought they would be overlooked by Motown. But they had some success until leaving for Buddah in 1972. This Hip-O comp covers the entire career of Gladys Knight & The Pips including Every Beat Of My Heart. Here's Gladys Knight & The Pips performing Every Beat Of My Heart on The Old Grey Whistle Test 1972.
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