Soul Trax: "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight & the Pips
This time a Facebook post by rock powerhouse producer ED STASIUM (Ramones, Talking Heads, Smithereens, Living Colour, etc) sent me down the rabbit hole. Ed casually mentioned that 40 years ago he got his start in the business by engineering and mixing "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight & the Pips as a wee lad in a basement in New Jersey.
Um, say what!?
Do you mean the August, 1973 release, the Pips' only #1 Billboard pop hit, the Grammy-award-winning recording that features the bass work of Motown legend Bob Babbit and horns by the Brecker Brothers (among others) that also happened to by my mother's favorite record of all time, a 45-rpm 7" single that I was literally raised on? That one? Yep! Oh, it gets weirder!
It turns out that the song was originally a 1972 COUNTRY song called "Midnight PLANE to HOUSTON" and was written about future Charlie's Angel, FARRAH FAWCETT, and her then boyfriend Lee "6-Million Dollar Man" Majors by a former Univ. of Miss. quarterback named Jim Weatherly.
Um, excuse me?
Furthermore the title was changed to "Midnight TRAIN to GEORGIA" and recorded first by CISSY HOUSTON a year earlier in 1972. It's all too much to go into! Here's a detailed and an excellent article about the whole saga:
On Weatherly's same self-titled 1972 RCA album LP with "Midnight Plane" on it, he also wrote another tune called: "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)." This song was recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips in January 1973, their last Motown recording before moving to Buddah Records. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard pop chart. Note: the Pips' version of "Neither One of Us" was 7 months BEFORE their version of "Midnight Train." Both "Neither One of Us" and "Midnight Train" won Grammys. Are you still with me?
Continuing on.
Weatherly also wrote a tune called "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," which was originally a #1 COUNTRY hit for (then) aging star RAY PRICE in July, 1973. It was recorded and released by Gladys Knight and the Pips in February, 1974.
Here are YouTube links to:
Jim Weatherly's original 1972 version of "Midnight Plane to Houston."
Cissy Houston's original 1972 recording of "Midnight Train to Georgia."
Jim Weatherly's original 1972 version of "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)." I couldn't find a version with out the annoying "for reference only" voice over. I apologize.
Ray Price's original version 1973 of "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me."
I'm assuming you all have the original Gladys Knight & the Pips recording in your library. But if you don't, do yourself a favor and listen to it again on YouTube (http://youtu.be/IdfZnWsps34) or something, knowing now what you now know!
Enjoy!
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