Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight is an American soul singer and actress. She was born on May 28, 1944, to Merald Woodlow Knight and Sarah Elizabeth Woods in Atlanta, Georgia. "She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, the most famous incarnation of which also included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest." [1]
Knight joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1997. She occasionally teased the late LDS Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, that his flock needs to inject some "pep" into their music. Ms. Knight created and now directs the LDS (Mormon) choir Saints Unified Voices [2]. SUV has released a Grammy Award-winning CD entitled One Voice, and occasionally performs at LDS stake firesides.
Gladys Knight is currently married to William McDowell. In addition to her performing career, she owns a chain of chicken and waffles restaurants based in Atlanta. She also has written several books.
Trivia
- Knight is ranked number eighteen in the 2005 Guinness Book of World Records' list of the most successful female musical artists of all time.
- Knight is ranked number eighteen on VH1 network's list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock.
- In 1995, Knight was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
Books by Gladys Knight
- At Home With Gladys Knight — A Cookbook, 2001
- Many Different Roads: A Common Path, by Jock W. Rolfe, Gladys Knight, 1998
- Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story — Biography and Autobiography, 1997
