Gladys Knight

With and without her trusty Pips, Gladys Knight has spent the past 45 years adding church-bred sophistication and grace to heartbreaking ballads like "Neither One of Us" and sweat-soaked dance-floor stompers like "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

Gladys Knight & the Pips were family business; cousins, a brother, and out in front of it all a sister who could sing it sweet or belt it raw. And after she left the Pips she proved a perfect duet partner for newcomers like Angie Stone and legends like Brother Ray.

The story of the Pips is best told by Gladys herself, as you can hear on The Motown Story version of "Grapevine." What you'll also hear in these deep cuts is a live version of "I Don't Want to Do Wrong" that, all on its own, justifies her place alongside the best singers ever recorded.

Gladys Knight took soul music to charm school, carrying herself and her music with a poise that, with anyone else, would be totally at odds with the gospel heat that can burst out of lungs the moment a song calls for it. With her brother and two cousins pippin' behind her, she laid down one soul classic after another. Now a confident solo star, she still graces every song she sings with class and feeling nobody can touch.