Arts & Entertainment
Gladys Knight: A Candid Conversation
tice, we were fighting for
respect,” Knight said there’s
a difference between her
generation’s approach and
want to hear it. ‘I’m mad
now!’ Growing up, they
need what we’ve received
on the spiritual side in or-
Knight and her husband
William McDowell of 15
years are happily married
and reside in Canton, North
‘We were determined more than we were angry
so we marched. We came together as a people.
We held up our heads. Not only were we fighting
for justice, we were fighting for respect’
the following generation.
“You can’t demand respect
if you’re not respectable.
In our homes, when we
try to teach our kids about
being respectable – they
get so much pressure from
outside of the homes. They
just got tired, so they don’t
der to keep them grounded,”
said Knight. “The concept
of God was taken away
from us and everything and
everybody along the way.
That’s the primary reason
why we are where we are
today. We’re too busy being
politically correct.”
Carolina. There they recent-
ly purchased the school-
house, where McDowell
attended elementary school.
The building has been aban-
doned for a number of de-
cades and they are seeking
to transforming it into a
state-of-art performing arts
facility for new students.
She is looking forward to
reaching out to her indus-
try friends for assistance in
helping others.
As she wraps up, she re-
counts what makes Chicago
so special every time she
visits the Windy City, “It’s a
team place. I’ve had friends
here and I worked here all
my young life. The theaters
were something here. They
were a learning place. It’s
just a wonderful, aggressive
place,” She said, “Being
friends with the Staples, Jer-
ry ‘Iceman’ Butler and other
friends, I got to learn about
the city and the clubs. That’s
what I love about Chicago. I
still get a good feeling when
I come here.”
Gladys Knight
By Mary L. Datcher
Special to the NNPA
from The Chicago
Defender
M
otown
Records
was
considered
the number one
most influential company to
lead in setting a precedent
for talent, style, good music,
swag and success. The De-
troit label was founded on
the same business model of
automotive companies that
ruled the blue collar town
during that time. Found-
er Berry Gordy believed
in building a company that
scouted and signed raw
talent, polished them and
carried them through an as-
sembly line of artist devel-
opment that is sadly missing
in today’s music business.
Gladys Knight and the
Pips were part of the ‘gold-
en era’ of Motown Records.
They contributed to its long
illustrious line-up of cata-
log hits that included “Nei-
ther One of Us”, “I Heard
It Through the Grapevine”
and “If I Were Your Wom-
an” among them.
In 1976, the group left
Motown and joined Buddah
Records, where they contin-
ued to create a string of clas-
sic hits like “Midnight Train
to GeorgiaAfter much suc-
cess Ms. Knight moved on
to embark on a successful
solo career with Columbia
Records and MCA Records
reuniting with the Pips in
the 1980’s. The lead vo-
cals on each song belonged
to Gladys Knight and her
smooth and timeless voice
still rings strong today.
Chicago Defender had an
opportunity to engage the
seven-time Grammy award-
ed artist and Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame inductee in
candid conversation while in
town for a concert at Ravin-
ia and to promote her latest
single “Just A Little”. The
independent release of her
single is available on Sep-
tember 25th and produced
by Grammy award produc-
er, S1. She’s no stranger to
overseeing her own music
company but this time it’s
with the help of her husband
and manager.
“I told my crew, please
don’t sign me to another
record label. You can give
people chance, after chance,
after chance but it hasn’t
changed,” Knight said.
“Why do you think there
aren’t any record labels left?
People got tired of not being
paid while these mega com-
panies are at the top with ex-
ecutives living in big hous-
es, owning luxury cars and
taking our money sending
their kids to college. I have
kids in college as well, and I
need my money.”
With her new company,
comes new talent and she’s
happy to bring on young and
fresh ears. Rising singer and
current vocal arranger, R&B
singer Avehre has managed
to capture Knight’s interest
in becoming one of the pre-
miere artists on her indepen-
dent label.
“Avehre is an amazing, tal-
ented and respectful young
man. My husband has taken
him under his wing. They
are in the studio right now,”
Knight said. “This man can
write, produce and do his
own thing.”
As the business has
changed over the years
Knight has experienced
challenges including the
loss of her son James New-
man who was also her man-
ager, and her daughter and
former manager who fell ill.
She confesses that her spiri-
tuality and relationship with
God has kept her going. As
a mother, grandmother and
great-grandmother,
she’s
noticed a cycle of social
injustice that has continued
to plague our community.
Currentday injustices have
stirred past memories citing
that the generational gap is
not too different than when
she was coming up in the
Civil Rights movement.
“We were determined
more than we were angry
so we marched. We came
together as a people. We
held up our heads. Not only
were we fighting for jus-
October 7, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 7