While Gladys Knight & The Pips’ peak success was not until the late ‘60s into the early ‘70s with songs such as 1967’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” 1970’s “If I Were Your Woman,” and 1973’s “Midnight Train to Georgia,” the Southerners were already making some noise as early as 1961. In fact, the band’s single “Every Beat of My Heart” was initially released without a record label before being released on three smaller labels, leading to their eventual signing with Motown Records in early 1966.
Simply too good to contain, Knight and her band traveled this interesting road, which also included a brief hiatus for her to concentrate on her family to become one of the most legendary R&B groups in history. Having over a dozen Top Ten R&B Hits and six Number-one R&B albums, the band eventually ended up making it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Recognized for their passionate live performances, matched with a raw sound, Nitty Gritty, released in 1969, is one of their most stunning works.
Their sixth studio album, when Nitty Gritty arrived in 1969, was after Gladys Knight & The Pips had pumped out three studio albums in 1968 between Feelin’ Bluesy, Silk ‘n’ Soul, and All In A Knight’s Work. With a lot of music released in twelve months, Nitty Gritty kept the quality high and the emotions even higher.
An album that includes an array of tracks recorded by others, like “Cloud Nine” (originally done by the Temptations in 1968), “(I Know) I’m Losing You” (by The Temptations in 1966), and “Ain’t No Sun Since You’ve Been Gone” (by The Temptations in 1967), there were still others like “The Nitty Gritty” (done by Shirley Ellis in 1963). Heavy-handed in this aspect, Gladys Knight & The Pips offer an ever-distinctive take on every song, especially for the impassionated performance of “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “Ain’t No Sun Since You’ve Been Gone,” and “The Nitty Gritty.”
Recordings all R&B lovers should dig into: there is a soul in Knight’s voice that is impossible to ignore. Joining these mentioned tracks, there was also the beautiful “Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime)” (which hit Number 11 on R&B Charts), the bluesy “All I Could Do Was Cry,” the funky “Got Myself A Good Man,” and the body-moving “The Stranger” (featuring lyrics penned by Knight herself).
An album filled with color, sorrow, triumph, and real human feeling, now in 2025, Nitty Gitty will receive a new vinyl reissue release. Keeping momentum from Elemental Music’s 2024 Motown reissue schedule, Nitty Gritty arrives as a limited edition vinyl on January 17, 2025. The second album reissued in the Gladys Knight & The Pips catalog by Elemental Music (the first being 1973’s Neither One Of Us back in December), Nitty Gritty is also presented on 140-gram grade vinyl. Popping you in the ears with a rich sound, the quality is outstanding and is accompanied by a lovely reprinting of the original album artwork.
One of three new releases arriving from Elemental Music in January, the others are Smokey Robinson’s 1974 album Pure Smokey and Diana Ross & The Supremes’ 1966 album Reflections, Nitty Gritty is a Lesson in R&B, Soul, Funk, and Rock-n-Roll. That is why Cryptic Rock gives this new limited edition vinyl release of Gladys Knight & The Pips’ Nitty Gritty 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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