CREDIT: Roger Kisby, Getty Images (Gladys Knight)
Between each line of pain and glory in a long musical career, Gladys Knight has always found time for God.
Even in her darkest hours after personal tragedies, fighting racism or battling addictions, Knight has looked to God for consolation. This closeness to God began as a young girl listening to the wisdom of her parents, while growing up in the '50s in a segregated Atlanta.
"I was searching because I wanted to be better than I was. At my mom and dad's knee, I remember at two years old we were talking about Jesus," said Knight in an interview.
"I always kind of thought I want to be a good person, I want to be right to my fellow men and love them like we're supposed to," said Knight, who performs Monday night at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival stage at Confederation Park.
But she's had her share of grief in the past 64 years, enough to fill out an autobiography, Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story, which she wrote in 1997. (The title comes from one of her biggest hit songs, The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me).
There was a rape attempt at age 15 in her home, a pregnancy at 16 with her high school boyfriend, and a miscarriage while she was travelling on the road. She witnessing her husband's battle with drugs, which she believed contributed to his death. She overcame a severe gambling addiction in the mid-'70s, had three failed marriages, and, of course, endured the painful 1989 breakup with The Pips, the former backup singers with whom she enjoyed great success.
Then in 1999 she lost her eldest son, Jimmy III, who died in his sleep at the age of 36. His death came just before her first scheduled appearance in Ottawa at Bluesfest -- she cancelled the concert. When the subject of her son's untimely death is brought up, Knight said she only remembers the goodness he gave her during his short time here.
"He brought me to my church and I just grew immensely from his example. I am happy in my spirit for where I know for sure he is. That (death) is something we all have to go through, it's not our time and place to dictate when, where or what, it's not our business. It belongs to the Lord and that's how I've dealt with it. I know I'll see him again," said Knight, who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1997.
Her son Jimmy -- who acted as her manager -- often told her "you need to do the music you love." She said that's what led to her releasing a jazz-flavoured album, Before Me, in 2006. Although it was coolly received by critics and the public, Knight said she enjoyed the experience of performing music with which she isn't normally associated.
She said she was in a jazz band in high school and the bandleader, Lloyd Terry, encouraged her to study the great female singers of the day: Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. While she went on to become an accomplished R&B soul singer in the '60s and '70s, Knight felt a longing to perform the music that pays tribute to some of her musical heroes.
"I grew up watching these ladies," said Knight, referring to such legendary talents as Lena Horne and Billie Holiday and their songs Stormy Weather and Good Morning Heartache, which are featured on the album.
"They were wonderful ladies and I just watched them and they were so simplistic and awesome in their craft. I would pray that I would have just a little bit of what these women had," she chuckled.
She said she got a chance to meet all of her heroes, except for Holiday.
"I'm comfortable singing jazz," she said. "The only thing I was concerned about is that everybody, even in jazz, has their own style. To me, the queen of doodling was Ella Fitzgerald and scatting is something I never thought I could do."
She said she was pleased with the album, despite the fact it failed to reach as wide an audience as her past recordings, Midnight Train to Georgia, If I Were Your Woman, I've Got To Use My Imagination and That's What Friends Are For (with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick). She also performs a duet, A Night to Remember, on Johnny Mathis' latest CD.
"You're never going to please everyone and some people were saying I really didn't get into it because they were used to me belting out a song and being a power singer.
"Some of the music doesn't call for that, it just calls for making a musical statement and that's the way I treated it, more subtle," said Knight, who worked with Grammy-winning producers Phil Ramone and Tommy LiPuma.
"They were awesome people to work with," said Knight. "Phil was the smooth one, you know, the melodic one. Tommy was the fiery one. And I had all kinds of avenues to go down on that recording. One day I could be sweet and romantic, the next day I could be fiery and jazzy. It was great."
She said she's open to recording another jazz album and possibly working with some of today's young record producers on a new musical project.
"I like going across the board, I don't like being just in one pigeon-hole. Not hip hop (music) or anything like that, but something with a little more contemporary sound, using some of the beats that they have going on right now. The beats go great with the music we used to do, and as a matter of fact what they're doing today with these beats is going back and getting (sampling) the music we used to do."
Gladys Knight performs Monday at 9 p.m. at the TD-Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival in Confederation Park.
OTTAWA JAZZ FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
The festival runs through July 1.
Information: www.ottawajazz
festival.com.
Today
Confederation Park:
5 p.m.: Galaxie Rising Stars of the CBC
6:30 p.m.: Joel Miller Mandala
8:30 p.m.: The Big 3 Palladium
Orchestra
Library and Archives Canada:
4:30 p.m.: Howard Alden & Ken Peplowski
FairLDS.org
LDS.org
MormonWiki
Mormon Encyclopedia
FARMS
