The Empress of Soul is cutting back on her live load.
Gladys Knight, the 82-year-old R&B powerhouse, admits the time has come to focus on the next phase of her career, and wind back on concerts and touring.
“After much soul searching I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,” she writes in a social media post.
“I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”
Knight’s decision comes after some performances that didn’t hit her high standards. Last month, Knight and Smokey Robinson performed at the Hollywood Bowl. While Robinson appeared to have not lost a step, Knight wasn’t her typical self.
“She relied heavily on her three back-up singers, who even took lead parts on occasion. She didn’t introduce them, or any of her six musicians, or speak to the audience in any meaningful way beyond banalities like ‘you’re so beautiful.’ She never mentioned Robinson,” Billboard’s Paul Grein reported from the scene. Sadly, Knight “barely got through this show, and only by leaning heavily on her backup singers. Artists need to know when it’s time to bow out gracefully.”
As the leader of Gladys Knight And The Pips, the legendary singer helped shape the sound of Motown in the 60’s and 70’s: “Midnight Train to Georgia” was a No. 1 hit and instant classic, but the soul act’s run extended long after that 1973 hit.
In recent years, Knight has been a regular on the awards circuit. She was saluted by the Recording Academy in 2024 with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the previous year received the National Medals of Arts, the United States’ highest award given to artists and their patrons. Kennedy Center Honors came in 2022. Knight, along with her backing group, The Pips, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
“I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way,” her post continues.
“I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you. I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”
See Gladys Knight’s post here.
