Spinners, Gladys Knight bring soul to Heinz Hall

SPINNERS
SPINNERS

For more than five decades, Gladys Knight and the Spinners ruled the airwaves with timeless R& B music that stroked the hearts of millions.
“What made us successful was that we did timeless material. The music was timeless and the lyrics spoke love and happiness and that covers all generations,” explained Henry Fambrough, the only original surviving member of the Spinners.
The two teamed up to bring their timeless songs to Heinz Hall for an unforgettable night of music.
“We performed with Gladys Knight and the Pips when we were on Motown together,” Fambrough recalled. “They left Motown before we did but the guys that I have with me now were very excited about meeting her.”
Four-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Gladys Knight recently released her 30th album, “Where My Heart Belongs” in 2014. She and her brother, Merald “Bubba” Knight, sister, Brenda, and Cousins William and Elenor Guest formed the Pips (also named after a cousin) in 1953. The group joined Motown in 1966 and released a string of hit singles including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine (which was also recorded by Marvin Gaye), “Friendship Train,” “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye.”
Knight and her siblings left Motown in 1973 for Buddah Records and had mega success with “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” and “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” before striking out on her own solo career.
The Spinners, which got their start in Detroit as the Dominoes in 1954, renamed themselves the Spinners and spun on to the charts with their first hit, “That’s What Girls Are Made For” in 1961. The song peaked at number 27. The second single, “Love (I’m So Glad I Found You” reached No. 91 on the charts in November of the same year.
They joined Motown in 1963 after their record label, Tri Phi was bought out by Motown founder Berry Gordy. A year later the Spinners made their debut at the famed Apollo Theater and won acclaim although Motown used the group as road managers, chauffeurs and shipping clerks for other label mates.
In 1969 the Spinners switched to Motown-owned VIP imprint. A year later they scored a Top 20 hit with Stevie Wonder’s composition of “It’s a Shame.” Wonder wove his magic again in 1971 with “We’ll Have it Made,” which appeared on the group’s “Second Time Around” album.
The Spinners signed with Atlantic Records in 1972 and tasted top 10 fame five times with singles from their self-titled album, which included the song “I’ll Be Around.” In 1973, the singles “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.” “One of a Kind Love Affair,” and “Ghetto Child” solidified the group’s reputation as one of the biggest soul groups of the 1970s. 1974’s “Mighty Love” produced three Top 20 hits: “I’m Coming Home,” “Love Don’t Love Nobody,” and the title track. But their biggest hit that year was the duet with Dionne Warwick, “Then Came You.”
Over the next two years, the Spinners reached the Billboard charts again with “They Just Can’t Stop it (The Games People Play,” which took the number five spot and “Rubber Band Man” which reached number two.
By the 1980s, the Spinners weren’t shining so bright. The group had two big hits with “Working My Way Back to You,” “Forgive Me Girl” and “Cupid,” and “I’ve Loved You a Long Time.”
Their last Hot 100 hit was a remake of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away.”
Despite that, Fambrough said the group still tours and performs extensively gaining large crowds from the oldies circuit.
Pittsburgh was no exception.
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GLADYS KNIGHT
GLADYS KNIGHT

Pittsburghers were transported back to simpler, funkier time when both music icons performed many of their number one hits during their sets.
Clad in blue, red and white sequins suits, the Spinners—which now consists of  76-year-old Fambrough who didn’t sing lead on any of the group’s songs—Charlton Washington, Jessie Peck, Ronnie Moss and Marvin Taylor, opened their 80-minute set with “Could it Be I’m Falling in Love,” and then launched into the Stevie Wonder-penned “It’s a Shame,” “Sadie,” (after which they received a standing ovation), “Mighty Love” and ended on “Rubber Band Man.”
According to Fambrough, the group used to be a mainstay on the Pittsburgh entertainment scene, performing at the former Hollywood Bowl and Holiday House during their heyday. He said the Spinners last performance in the Steel City was in the late 90s or early 2000s was for a Doo Wop show.
He was excited about returning to town.
“If people close their eyes, they would swear they were hearing the old Spinners,” Fambrough said.
He was right.
After a 40-minute intermission, restless attendees finally got to hear Knight’s golden voice on such classics as “Love Overboard,” the final song she recorded with the Pips.
At the start of her half of the concert, Knight seemed stiff and nervous. After explaining to the audience that she “had been fighting a cold for the past three days,” she then began to sound like the Gladys we all know and love on songs like “If I Were Your Woman” and “Neither One of Us.”
When her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight made a surprise guest appearance, the audience went wild. Clad in red straight-leg pants, black jacket and white skirt, Bubba clearly stole the show performing his own versions of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” and Pharrell’s “Happy.”
Brother and sister performed “Yesterday” before Gladys ended the show with “Midnight Train to Georgia” and a tear-jerking gospel Medley.
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