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Gladys Knight was NOT happy with Motown Records. When 1973 rolled around, she and the Pips had been with the label for six years, with only a few hits to show for it. (Their version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” went to #2 in 1968) Even so, Gladys and her management decided to negotiate a new Motown contract.
It did NOT go well.
It became very apparent that Motown was not all that interested in re-signing a second string group when they had Diana Ross, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye (among others) on their roster, cranking out songs and living up to Motown's nickname: “Hitsville, USA.”
So Gladys and the Pips decided to leave Motown and sign with Buddha Records, but they were still contractually obligated to record one more album for Motown. So they took a song written by Jim Weatherly (He comes up again later!) called “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye),” and built the album around it.
And then they left for Buddha, where they quickly recorded another album, released another song by Jim Weatherly (“Where Peaceful Waters Flow,”) and to their infinite frustration, watched it barely crack the Top 30.
Why? Because Motown had released “Neither One of Us” as a single, and really started pushing it. (Sort of a “How DARE you leave us—we'll show you” sort of thing). Well, up the chart it went: #1 on Billboard's Soul Chart, #2 on the Hot 100, and #15 on the Adult Contemporary Chart! It turned out to be a “Great Song of 1973!” For Motown.
But Gladys and the Pips had the last laugh. The NEXT song they released on Buddha was yet ANOTHER Jim Weatherly song---a little tune called “Midnight Train to Georgia,” (which we highlighted back on December 22nd).
Of course, it became a SECOND “Great Song of 1973,” topping both the Hot 100 AND the Soul Chart!
And the final kicker? At the 1974 Grammys, Gladys Knight and the Pips took home the award for Best “R&B Performance by a Duo or Group” for “Midnight Train,” but they ALSO won “Best POP Vocal Performance for a Duo or Group”for “Neither One of Us!”
Two Labels, Two “Great Songs,” and Two Grammys for Gladys Knight & The Pips (and Jim Weatherly, too!)
Neither One of Us:
And here's the link to my blog about “Midnight Train to Georgia!”
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