On the corner of Van Brunt St. and Palisades Ave., excitement is in the air on Friday, October 21, 2016, as one of the most celebrated singers in popular music history, “The Empress of Soul” — Gladys Knight — is about to perform just steps away at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (BergenPAC) in Englewood, NJ.
Knight, 72, was born in Atlanta, GA, the daughter of a postal worker. She first achieved fame at the age of seven winning Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour television competition. Soon after, she formed a music group with several relatives called the Pips, which they named after a cousin, James “Pip” Woods.
With her brother, Merald “Bubba” Knight, and two other cousins, Edward Patten and William Guest, Gladys Knight and the Pips went on to record numerous hits during the 1960s and ’70s. In 1996, the group became inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In addition, Knight has also had success as a solo artist, performing with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the Grammy-winning “That’s What Friends Are For,” in addition to other hits. She appeared on television in the 1980s and ’90s with roles on A Different World, The Jeffersons, Benson, and The Jamie Foxx Show, and more recently on 30 Rock, The First Family, and Dancing with the Stars. She won a Golden Globe for her work in film and has also been honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
As concert goers make their way up Van Brunt St. to address #30 and file into the auditorium at BergenPAC, they are treated to a first-act performance from comedianne Maureen Langan. Langan, a Jersey girl from Lake Hiawatha — “a town without a lake,” she says — pumps up the crowd with her act in which she lambasts celebrities, satirizes the news, and jokes about her family — notably her father, a garbageman, and her mother, an Irish immigrant.
Following huge laughs and great applause, Langan takes a moment during the show’s intermission to tell us, “It was great to see and connect with the people of New Jersey. It was a gift to be able to open for Gladys Knight and to perform for all these great people in Englewood.”
A college English major, Langan also goes on to jokingly add, “I need people to follow me on Facebook because I need a book and a movie deal. If anyone is interested, they don’t need to know how to write. I will teach them how to use a semi-colon.”
The intermission over, musicians can be seen taking their places on the BergenPAC auditorium stage. The crowd immediately starts grooving when they hear the up-tempo opening strains of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ 1969 Top 20 hit, “The Nitty Gritty” — Knight singing up a storm. Then, she and the musicians segue directly into a pulsating version of The Jacksons’ 1979 Top Ten smash, “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”
After massive cheering and applause, Knight greets the audience, waving to her fans like she’s greeting long lost friends as she engages the eager throng with her expert vocals on her 1987 Top 40 hit, “Love Overboard.”
“I couldn’t wait to get out to you all!” exclaims Knight.
The crowd cheers and shouts. Some audience members can’t control themselves and start to yell out to Gladys from their seats.
“I love you!” shouts one fan.
“Somebody pinch me!” screams another.
“I love you, too,” responds Knight.
“We’re having a private conversation here,” she explains to the rest of the crowd, going on to note, “In my opinion, we have been losing the art of conversation,” after which she procedes to expound upon the emotion that comes “when people talk face to face.”
Knight reveals to the packed house, “This is my first time in front of you in I don’t know how long, but I’ve sung this song over 2,000 times.” At this point, she performs an outstanding rendition of her 1973 million-selling hit, “(You’re the) Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me,” clearly singing from the heart for her delighted fans, “If anyone should ever write my life story/For whatever reason there might be/You’ll be there between each line of pain and glory/’Cause you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
The crowd responds with even more affectionate cheers and shouts for this legendary songstress who stops for a moment just to take it all in.
Moving on to her own unique rendition of Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me,” the audience begins to sing along.
Knight responds to them by saying, “Come on y’all,” encouraging the impromptu choir to continue the communication that connects everyone in the room with the emotion of the song, prompting her to further proclaim, “I love you guys! Stay with me!”
After more audience approval, Knight takes a moment to talk about her band members as the “kids” she is trying to “teach — the right way” as they rise in today’s “entertainment industry.”
“You’ve got to be aware and you’ve got to care,” she tells them, going on to add, “and you’ve got to keep it clean!”
At this point, she breaks into her 1974 Top 5 classic, “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” thrilling the crowd as she dances to the driving bass holding down the bottom and the infectious syncopated rhythm guitar part soaring over the top.
Following roars of approval, Knight exclaims, “When life gets rough, we got to get it corrected.” Then, she and one of her male back-up singers perform Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.” Gladys responds with “If I Were Your Woman,” transforming the song into a powerful duet ending with the two vocalists bowing arm in arm together.
Next, Knight shares with the audience what she learned about performing love songs from some of the greatest singers of all time, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Sarah Vaughn, and Frank Sinatra. Using an old fashioned radio mike and starting with just piano and voice on a jazzy version of “The Man I Love,” Knight segues on to “Stormy Weather” and ultimately “Someone To Watch Over Me.” Like a master class in singing, Knight shows how she creates her own personal vocal renditions of these classic songs that will never go out of style. From the response of the fans, it is clear that class and grace will never be frowned upon as long as vocal superstars like Gladys Knight are here with us!
And if that isn’t enough, Knight goes on to perform a unique medley of two songs both entitled “Hello.” First up is Lionel Richie’s 1984 #1 hit “Hello,” which is followed by Adele’s 2015 #1 hit, “Hello.” Knight sings both songs directly to the audience, clearly making a visceral connection, and prompting one excited audience member in the back of the house to exclaim, “Sing, Gladys, sing!”
Moving on to her 1967 #2 Motown smash, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Knight and her stagemates perform with a perfect blend between the quartet of back-up singers and Knight’s outstanding lead vocal. The audience again participates by singing and clapping along.
“This is exercise,” exclaims Knight, going on to further note, “Music takes us to all kinds of places.”
The highlight of the evening — and, in fact, one of the best live vocal performances we’ve experienced anywhere — is Knight’s rendition of her 1974 Top 20 medley, “The Way We Were/Try to Remember.” Here, Knight starts off, her voice soft and sultry, crying and pleading, the audience swaying and snapping to the beautiful Alan and Marilyn Bergman lyrics as they hear Gladys’ voice swell and fill their ears, hearts, and minds with beautiful, majestic sound. At least one audience member screams out, “You sing it, girl!” and before she is even finished, the audience is on its feet in recognition of this extraordinary display of vocal perfection they’ve all just witnessed and enjoyed.
Thanking the audience saying, “You are such a blessing. Thank you for being here. When you are in tune, it’s all us. We can do nothing without each other,” Knight goes on to perform a sumptuous version of her 1973 Top Ten Motown hit, “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye).”
The crowd cheers and Knight proceeds to wave them on to cheer even more, presumably so she can give the audience even more in return, showing her fans the pro that she is with the grace and unmistakable style that is “Gladys.”
After introducing her entire entourage, Knight gives the audience a treat which she, herself, recently got to experience when her back-up singers and band surprised her with a tribute they created to Prince.
Explaining “They did this all themselves!” Knight puts the spotlight squarely on her stagemates as they perform an impressive medley of some of Prince’s greatest hits including “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” “1999,” “Diamonds and Pearls” and “Purple Rain” — all four back-up vocalists pantomiming screaming guitars while the band’s real-life guitarist wails and audience members wave their hands in the air.
Like a proud parent, Gladys moves to the side to feature all of her young singers and musicians proclaiming, “Yes! I’m so proud of them. This is the kind of love and support they need.”
To finish off this magnificent evening of music, Knight and the group raise the roof with a gospel hymn followed by her signature song, 1973’s #1 Grammy-winner, “Midnight Train to Georgia,” inviting everyone to hop aboard to help sing, as Gladys explains, “‘Cause there ain’t no Pips up here tonight!”
The crowd goes wild with applause with audience members smiling and dancing as they exit the theater.
“She was phenomenal,” raves Gloria from Englewood.
“Excellent,” says Mirium from North Bergen.
“Great!” adds Rick, from Glen Rock.
And, 20 minutes after the show’s conclusion, still dancing on the corner of Van Brunt St. and Palisades Ave. is Jean, from “Fort Lee, by way of Harlem,” who tells us, “Gladys and the kids were great — I didn’t even miss the Pips!” going on to summarize her magical experience at BergenPAC this evening in just one single word:
“Perfect.”
For more on comedianne Maureen Langan, please check out maureenlangan.com. For further information on Gladys Knight, please go to gladysknight.com. For info on great future performances at BergenPAC — including vocalists Linda Eder on November 19, 2016 and Kenny Rogers on December 15, 2016 — please see bergenpac.org.
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