But her approach to musical activism has always been subtle, if not inscrutable. We wanted progress. We are Black people and we should be proud, and we want our people lifting us up! But there is a gap between the story she tells and what appears onscreen. These moments of disconnect—between the members of a group, and between what is remembered and what is portrayed—are perfectly suited to soul.
It was a musical culture that was, at base, about trying to be yourself while striving to find and keep your people. But her performance of vocal prowess and joyful belonging was her own version of a Black Power salute. More: Music Soul Motown. The New Yorker Recommends What our staff is reading, watching, and listening to each week. Knight and the Pips left Motown in for Buddah Records, a subsidiary of Arista the group later took Motown to court for unpaid royalties.
In , the group recorded the soundtrack for the film Claudine , with songs written by Curtis Mayfield; the soundtrack album spawned the hit single "On and On. Knight and the Pips hosted their own TV special in the summer of , and in , Knight made an appearance in the film Pipe Dreams , for which she and the Pips also recorded the soundtrack album.
Due to legal problems with Buddah, Knight and the Pips were forced to record separately in the last years of the s, although they continued performing together in live gigs. After signing a new contract with Columbia, the group released three reunion albums during the early s, About Love , Touch and Visions , scoring hits with such singles as "Landlord" produced by the ace songwriting team Ashford and Simpson , "Save the Overtime for Me" and "You're Number One".
Throughout the s, Knight continued to tour and record, producing the successful album Just For You and earning acclaim for her consistently strong vocals and hardworking performance style. In addition to her musical career, she also acted in a recurring role on the TV series New York Undercover. While no longer a chart-topping success, Knight, known fondly today as the "Empress of Soul," has continued to make records.
She once stated, "Since I've been so wonderfully blessed, I really want to share and to make life at least a little better. So every chance I get to share the gospel or uplift people, I will take full advantage of that opportunity. Knight's album Before Me also received a warm reception. In , Knight decided to take on another kind of role by joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars , the popular television competition, and strutting her stuff against the likes of actress Melissa Gilbert, actor Jaleel White and TV personality Sherri Shepherd.
Two years later, she released another studio album, the gospel-infused Where My Heart Belongs. After being separated for seven years, Knight divorced Newman in , and he died a few years later. In , Knight married producer Barry Hankerson, who is the uncle of the late singer Aaliyah. The couple had one son, Shanga Hankerson.
Their marriage ended in In , Knight married motivational speaker Les Brown, but they separated and divorced in She then married William McDowell in Knight's son and then-manager James passed away in at the age of 37 from heart failure. Gladys Knight's son Shanga Hankerson owns a chain of chicken and waffles restaurants based in Atlanta, using her name. One location was featured on the Travel Channel series Man v. In , police raided two of the restaurants and its headquarters.
It was reported that Shanga was involved in unpaid taxes.
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