Today’s classic song of the day is the final Motown single from Gladys Knight & the Pips. “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” was released as a single in late December of 1972 and, early in 1973, went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
Gladys Knight & the Pips first got together way back in 1952, with Ms. Knight was just eight years old. They signed their first record contract, with Brunswick Records, in 1957, worked through a couple of other labels for a few years, and finally signed with Motown in 1966. While at Motown they had a number of decent hits, including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “The End of Our Road,” “The Nitty Gritty,” “Friendship Train,” “If I Were Your Woman,” “I Don’t Want to Do Wrong,” and “Neither One of Us.” They left Motown in 1973, just as “Neither One of Us” was climbing the charts, and moved to Buddah Records. They had several more hits at Buddah, including “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” “On and On,” and a medley of “The Way We Were/Try to Remember.” That ain’t a bad career.
“Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” was written by a country singer-songwriter named Jim Weatherly, who also wrote “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” for Ms. Knight & the Pips. “Neither One of Us” won the group a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. It deserved it.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Gladys Knight & the Pips performing “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)” live on the April 6, 1973, episode of The Midnight Special. This is a good one.
