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There's a slew of superstar R&B songstresses these days: Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill,
Jill Scott and Macy Gray, plus up-and-comers India-Arie, Blu Cantrell and Sunshine. The
world can't get enough of soulful divas and their fresh sounds.
However, when listening to today's ladies, it seldom comes to
many people's minds to think of the groundbreakers: the first ladies of Motown. It seems
certain that there would be no Beatles if there was no Elvis. There would be no Rolling
Stones had there not been John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. And there certainly wouldn't
be such a hot crop of R&B singers without Gladys Knight.
Staying true has kept Knight a legend. She began to sing at age
8, when she performed with her brother and her cousins at church in Atlanta. They called
themselves the Pips. Soon thereafter, they found a larger audience with a version of
Johnny Otis' "Every Beat of My Heart." The name changed to Gladys Knight and the
Pips and they found themselves signed to Motown Records.
The adage that you can't keep a good woman down, though, couldn't
be more true than it is with Knight. Over the past decade, she's been showered with some
remarkable accolades: she was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in '96 and won
the '98 Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award.
For an additional $8.50, you can have dinner before the show in
the Flamingo Room which serves Continental cuisine, Simply choose the "Show and
Dinner" option when you reserve.
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