Chart entered : 10 June 1989
Chart peak : 6
The Motown veteran wasn't too long in following her former band-mates out of the charts, this being her first solo single since her last hit with the Pips.
Gladys was chosen to do the theme song to the latest Bond film, the second to star Timothy Dalton, after an effort from Vic Flick and Eric Clapton to fit in with Dalton's grittier persona was deemed unsuitable. That might have influenced producer and writer Narada Michael Walden ( John Barry was recovering from throat surgery ) to come up with an arrangement that made deliberate reference to the rasping horn riff from Goldfinger . Apart from that , it seems pretty close to Madonna's Live To Tell with the same tempo and keyboard sound but lacks that song's icy drama. It's actually the longest Bond theme and feels like it too, being ponderous and bombastic without delivering a great tune. The lyrics are reasonably smart in keeping the metaphor going and Gladys is in good voice but it's still a relief when it finishes.
Gladys came back with her third solo album "Good Woman" in 1991. It reached a commendable 45 in the US although none of the singles broke out of the R & B charts. "Men" was a credible attempt at some new jack swing action but elsewhere the album sounds like Gladys is trying to share Whitney Houston's turf. "Superwoman" is a collaboration with fellow vets Dionne Warwick and Patti Labelle on an LA Reid / Babyface song but suffered from Karyn White having had a big hit with it just two years earlier.
Gladys's next one "Just For You " in 1994 did almost as well. With tracks written by Babyface and Jam and Lewis it's a collection of glossy middle-of-the-road soul which Gladys delivers in her lower range. It could do without the self-pitying diatribe that precedes the closing live cover of Boys II Men's "End of the Road". The album reached number 53 and the Babyface-penned "I Don't Wanna Know" tickled the bottom end of the singles chart.
Two years later, Gladys made her last mark on any singles chart as one of four voices ( with Chaka Khan, Tamla and Brandy ) on "Missing You" ,recorded for the film Set It Off about a black female robbery gang, a languid R &B smoocher on which the quartet try to out-emote each other. It's to be hoped the film wasn't as dull. It reached number 25 in the US and number 2 in New Zealand but did nothing here.
In 1997 Gladys left the Baptist church and became a Mormon. The following year saw the first in a string of gospel albums reflecting her new allegiance with "Many Different Roads".
In 2001 Gladys released her last album for MCA, "At Last ". It's a secular album though there are religious references in the lyrics. It's another tasteful collection of middle-aged soul with Gladys's voice showing the occasional sign of wear and tear. It's a bit soporific in one sitting although individually most of the songs are quite good. It reached number 98 in the US.
The following year Gladys founded the gospel music choir Saints Unified Voices and recorded two albums with them, "One Voice" in 2005 and "A Christmas Celebration" in 2006. In the latter year she released her last charting album in the US, "Before Me" which reached number 93. It's an album of big band jazz standards, well done if you like that sort of thing. 2006 also saw her last chart entry in the UK when a Gladys Knight and the Pips compilation reached number 52 in the album charts.
In 2009 Gladys sang a couple of songs at Michael Jackson's funeral then took Tito to the UK as support act on her farewell tour here. In 2010 she recorded the valedictory single "Settle" a lo;fi R & B /gospel crossover which is a bit of a mess really. So is the electronic version of "I (Who Have Nothing ) released on the internet the following year. These and other odd tracks were cobbled together on a scanty "new" LP "Another Journey" in 2013 which stylistically is all over the place ranging from the tasteless overblown ballad "The Dream" to the hip hop "Searching For The Real Thing". It received little promotion and didn't chart.
Gladys released another gospel album "Where My Heart Belongs"in 2014, her last effort to date.
Despite the farewell tour in 2009, Gladys returns to the UK for six dates this summer. She is now 72.
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