THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,793) Gladys Knight & the Pips — “He’s My Kind of Fellow”
This is my kinda song, feel-good soul that puts a smile on my face from Gladys Knight & the Pips’ (see #1,407) first LP, written by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol.
Andy Kellman tells us of Ms. Knight and the Pips:
Steeped in the gospel tradition like so many early R&B groups, Gladys Knight & the Pips . . . developed into one of Motown’s most dependable acts, responsible for 11 Top Ten R&B hits from 1966 through 1972 . . . . [then] doubl[ing] its quantity of Top Ten R&B hits with the Buddah label through 1978 . . . .Knight, her brother Merald “Bubba,” sister Brenda and cousins Eleanor Guest and William Guest formed their first vocal group . . . in 1952. Calling themselves the Pips, after their cousin James “Pips” Woods, the youngsters sang supper-club material from Monday through Saturday and gospel music on Sundays. They first recorded for Brunswick Records in 1958 . . . . Another cousin of the Knights, Edward Patten, along with Langston George, were brought into the group the following year when Brenda and Eleanor left to get married. Three years elapsed before the Pips’ next sessions, which produced a version of . . . “Every Beat of My Heart” for the small Huntom label. [It] . . . was licensed to Vee Jay Records when it began attracting national attention, and went on to top the U.S. R&B chart and reach the pop Top Ten. By this time, the group, now credited as Gladys Knight & the Pips, had signed a long-term recording contract with Fury Records . . . . [followed by a] switch in 1964 to the Maxx label . . . . Langston George retired from the group in 1962, leaving the four-strong lineup that survived into the ’80s. In 1966, [they] signed to Motown Records’ Soul subsidiary, where they were teamed up with producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield. Knight’s tough vocals distinguished them from Motown’s pop-soul roster. Between 1967 and 1968, they had major R&B and minor pop hits in the U.S. . . . but enjoyed most success with the original release of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine[.]” . . . In the early ’70s, Knight & the Pips slowly moved away from their original blues-influenced sound toward a more middle-of-the-road harmony blend. Their new approach brought them success in 1973 with the smash hit “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” . . . . In late 1973, [they] elected to leave Motown for Buddah Records, unhappy [with Motown’s] shift . . . from Detroit to Los Angeles. At Buddah, the group found immediate success with . . . “Midnight Train to Georgia[.]”
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gladys-knight-the-pips-mn0000667169#biography
Here is Brenda Holloway (unreleased at the time):
Here are Sandy & the Pebbles:
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