Alex Henderson

Gladys Knight & the Pips                                                 Visions

Gladys Knight & the Pips were quite resilient during their 38-year run. Just when it seemed that the iconic R&B group was starting to fade in popularity, they would bounce back with a major chartbuster. And they did exactly that in 1983, which saw the release of their gold album Visions and their #1 R&B smash “Save the Overtime (For Me).” Visions was by far the most successful of the albums they recorded during their stay at Columbia Records, which started with 1980’s About Love and ended with 1985’s Life—although Knight had recorded a solo album for Columbia before that.

The end of the 1970s were a challenging time for Gladys Knight & the Pips, who had a legal dispute with Buddah Records that prevented them from recording together but didn’t prevent them from recording separately. The Pips recorded two little-known albums without Knight for Casablanca Records (1977’s At Last…..The Pips and 1978’s Bunny Sigler-produced Callin’), and Knight recorded her first two solo albums: 1978’s Miss Gladys Knight for Buddah and 1979’s Gladys Knight for Columbia. It wasn’t until About Love, however, that Gladys Knight & the Pips were able to legally record for Columbia as a group. And Above Love, which was written and produced by Ashford & Simpson, showed their resilience: the album reached #5 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and contained the ballad “Landlord” (a #3 R&B hit).

Although 1981’s Touch didn’t perform as well as About Love, it included the #21 R&B single “I Will Fight.” The album itself stalled at #22 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart, but in 1983, Visions not only outperformed Touch—it outperformed About Love as well, reaching #3 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and becoming their first gold album since 1975’s 2^nd Anniversary. Certainly, “Save the Overtime (For Me)” had a lot to do with Visions’ success: the infectious funk-dance single became their first #1 R&B hit since 1974 and enjoyed a great deal of exposure both on the radio and in dance clubs. Another single, the silky ballad “You’re Number One (In My Book),” also contributed to Visions’ success: that gem made it to #5 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. And Visions’ contained some minor hits as well, including the funky “When You’re Far Away” (#42 R&B in Billboard) and a performance of the ballad “Wind Beneath My Wings,” a.k.a. “Hero,” that made it to #64 R&B and #23 adult contemporary. “Wind Beneath My Wings” was recorded by many different artists in the 1980s, including Sheena Easton in 1982, Lou Rawls in 1983 and Gary Morris in 1983 (Morris’ version was a #4 country hit). The most famous version, however, is the one that became a #1 pop single for Bette Midler in 1989.

Visions underscores Gladys Knight & the Pips’ ability to change with the times and appeal to the urban contemporary environment of 1983. Many of the influences one hears on Visions are clearly 1983 influences, ranging from Sharon Bryant-era Atlantic Starr to the Solar Records sound (which was exemplified by the Whispers, Shalamar, Midnight Star, Dynasty, Carrie Lucas and others who were signed to Solar at the time). And that Solar influence isn’t surprising when one considers that the participants include Joey Gallo—who co-wrote “Save the Overtime (For Me)” and produced and co-wrote the sleek “Just Be My Lover”—and the late Edmund Sylvers, who produced “When You’re Far Away.” Both Gallo and Sylvers had a Solar connection: Gallo co-wrote songs for Shalamar and Lucas, and Edmund Sylvers was a member of the Sylvers—a family group that enjoyed some major hits in the 1970s (including “Boogie Fever” and “Hotline”) and recorded an album titled Concept for Solar in 1981. Edmund Sylvers’ brother, producer/songwriter Leon Sylvers III, worked with most of the major acts on Solar. 

“When You’re Far Away” was written by the Minneapolis duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who were members of the Prince-associated band The Time before leaving that outfit and becoming one of the most successful producing/songwriting teams in 1980s R&B. Janet Jackson, Cherrelle, Alexander O’Neal, the SOS Band, Cheryl Lynn and the Human League are among the artists who scored major hits with songs that Jam/Lewis wrote and/or produced.

Gladys Knight, however, doesn’t leave all of the producing to others on Visions. Knight, her older brother Merald “Bubba” Knight (one of the Pips) and Sam Dees are the producers on “Wind Beneath My Wings,” “Seconds,” the ballad “Heaven Sent,” the vibrant “Don’t Make Me Run Away” and the exuberant “Oh La De Da.”

“Seconds” should not be confused with a Neil Simon/Burt Bacharach song that Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded for their I Feel a Song album in 1974. While the other “Seconds” is a ballad, this “Seconds” is a simmering funk groove that Dees wrote with the late producer/songwriter Ron “Have Mercy” Kersey (a Philadelphian remembered for his work with the Trammps, Stephanie Mills, Blue Magic and many others). Dees and Kersey also wrote Atlantic Starr’s 1981 hit “Send For Me.”

Originally, Visions was a 10-song vinyl LP. But with this deluxe 30^th anniversary edition of Visions, FunkyTownGrooves generously expands the album to a two-CD set—and the 10 original selections are followed by no less than 19 bonus tracks, which include four different mixes of “Save the Overtime (For Me),” three different mixes of “When You’re Far Away,” and a single version of “You’re Number One (In My Book).” Collectors will be thrilled to know that the bonus material also includes 14 previously unreleased recordings.  

After Visions, Gladys Knight & the Pips’ recorded one more album for Columbia: 1985’s Life, which didn’t perform as well as Visions. But when they switched to MCA Records with 1987’s All Our Love, they once again showed their resilience: that album went gold in the U.S. and boasted the #1 R&B smash “Love Overboard.” All Our Love, however, turned out to be their last album as a group; when Gladys Knight became a full-time solo artist in 1990, that marked the end of their 38-year run.

During those 38 years, Gladys Knight & the Pips delighted R&B lovers on numerous occasions—and their Columbia period reached an exciting peak with Visions.

—Alex Henderson, September 2013

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Salon.com, AlterNet, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) has also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.