Gladys Knight And The Pips - Just Walk In My Shoes [Soul S-35023] [7-6-66] [TMG 576] [16-9-66]

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Gladys Knight And The Pips
Just Walk In My Shoes b/w Stepping Closer To Your Heart
Soul S-35023 7th June 1966
UK Tamla Motown TMG576 16th Sep 1966 + TMG813 2nd June 1972.

Their first Motown single, "Just Walk in My Shoes", was a hit in the UK, but the group was disappointed in having The Andantes sing over the Pips in the song, resulting in the group demanding that the Andantes not be featured on the group's recordings.

The Early Years....

Gladys Knight performed on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in 1952 at the age of seven, winning first prize. On September 4, 1952, Gladys, Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest began performing together during Bubba's tenth birthday party after a record player malfunctioned. Shortly afterwards, the sextet agreed to form a group under the insistence of Gladys' mother Elizabeth Knight. They settled on the name, The Pips, inspired by the nickname of their cousin, James "Pip" Woods. By 1955, the group began performing at the talent show circuit at their home town of Atlanta, winning each talent show they performed on. This success allowed them a record contract with Brunswick Records in 1957. The group released two recordings that failed to chart. Despite this, the group was now opening for top recording acts such as Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.

By 1959, Brunswick dropped the group and both Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest left the group to begin families. They were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a friend, Langston George. Patten and George were involved in another group before joining the Pips. In 1961, they recorded their version of Johnny Otis' "Every Beat of My Heart". Because the group was without a record label, a local Atlanta label, Huntom Records, pushed the single and got a distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records to release the single. During this time, the group moved to New York where they auditioned for Bobby Robinson's Fury Records. Upon learning that "Every Beat of My Heart" was already becoming a hit and cutting the group off of profits, Robinson had the group re-record the song and re-release it on Fury Records. Both versions made the Billboard charts, with the Huntom/Vee-Jay version reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Following this, the group changed their name to Gladys Knight & The Pips; prior to the name change, Langston George left the group. Later in 1961, the newly christened quartet released the single, "Letter Full of Tears", which became another top 40 hit in early 1962.

The group developed a reputation for exciting and polished live performances that enabled them to work even without the benefit of best-selling records. Choreographer Atkins designed "fast-stepping" dance routines that became a signature of the Pips' stage presentation; Atkins later described his working and personal relationship with the group in his autobiography, Class Act: The Jazz Life of Choreographer Cholly Atkins: "The one thing that I was pleased about was a stipulation in my contract that allowed me to keep working with Gladys Knight & The Pips as personal clients even though I would be an employee of Motown Records. To tell the truth, Gordy wasn't too happy about it at first, but this is something that I would not compromise under any circumstances. By that time, Gladys and the guys were like my own children!" The group was a touring stand out during this period with Knight's contralto lead vocals and the Pips' impeccable choreography and characteristic background vocals becoming highlights.
Gladys Knight & the Pips' Motown long-playing debut, Everybody Needs Love [1967], which includes their hit single "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".

By the end of 1965, Berry Gordy was scouting to get the group signed to his fabled Motown Records label. Though the three Pips wanted to sign with the label, Gladys Knight initially refused, due to her fears that the label would overlook them over the more popular artists on his roster. They would sign with Motown in 1966, being assigned to Motown's Soul Records label, a label which featured acts who had more of an R&B flavor than a pop flavor. Their first Motown single, "Just Walk in My Shoes", was a hit in England, but the group was disappointed in having The Andantes sing over the Pips in the song, resulting in the group demanding that the Andantes not be featured on the group's recordings. They also were one of the few Motown acts that didn't regularly perform on the label's Motortown Revues, with an exception being a Christmas showcase at the Fox Theater in Detroit, recorded for the album, Motortown Revue Live. A second single, "Take Me In Your Arms and Love Me", also reached the charts in England.

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