Here’s a clip* of one of my favourite vocalists, Gladys Knight, performing her hit “If I Were Your Woman” on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1971. The song was taken from the LP If I Were Your Woman
(Feb 2012 – *the clip has since been removed – once again, because it’s not actually a part of history at all, but privately owned property.)
(Feb 2014 – booyakasha! Well, it’s a clip of a clip anyway:)
Knight and her bandmates the Pips had been signees of the Motown label in the 60s, but never quite made the upper echelons of the label’s line-up. In my view, they stand out from the crowd quite a bit in terms of Gladys’ powerful, and very sexy, delivery, which stands in opposition to, say, Diana Ross who is a more middle of the road vocalist in a pop vein. I wonder if the difference in style had anything to do with their relative lack of success while at Motown. I strongly suspect so. The group would score their biggest hit after they left the label, with their immortal “Midnight Train to Georgia” in 1974.
Knight’s vocals and her arrangements were decidedly entrenched in a Southern tradition – gutsy, passionate, and earthy, with a strong whiff of the funk running all the way through. I always wonder if they wouldn’t have done better on Stax for their 60s sides, or at very least Atlantic. Yet, they had a good working relationship with the Funk Brothers, who often pushed Gladys’ performance in the studio by stepping up their own, knowing that she would rise to the occasion – and Gladys would always oblige by meeting them, note for note.
For me, Gladys Knight is among the giants in soul, male or female. She carved out an individual sound to match any of her contemporaries.
Enjoy the clip!
The Delete Bin 
I like Gladys Knight as well, and much more than Diana Ross, who, to me spends too much of her time being affected by her own image.
I must say though, that the Pips, in this clip at least, look like overgrown leprechauns. I Like the song, the costumes, not so much.
Thanks, Prissy!
Imagine how the Pips themselves felt!
There are some Supremes songs which are undeniable, but I’ve always thought the material was the real star of the Supremes success – the songs. But, Gladys Knight could sing from a geography textbook and make it great.