May 17

I’ve always wanted to be a Pip.

You know, the backing singers that harmonize their voices and dance steps behind Gladys Knight? It just looks like it’d be a fun job. I’ve been practicing recently since rediscovering my copy of 1973s Imagination.

This was their first release after jumping off the Motown ship and on to Buddah Records. This album produced their first and only Hot 100 #1, the song that convinced me to take up Pipping, Midnight Train to Georgia.

So, let’s hear a big “choo-choo!” for Merald Knight, Eddie Patten, and William Guest… the Pips!