James Newman, a musician, is well known for being the first wife of Gladys Knight. Despite not having a “sure hit” at the time, Gladys Knight & the Pips joined the Motown Records family in 1966. They were first viewed as a secondary act by the label but later found enormous success with a number of hit singles.
Some of their well-known songs include “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” which Marvin Gaye later made famous, “Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me,” “The Nitty Gritty,” “Friendship Train,” “If I Were Your Woman,” “I Don’t Want To Do Wrong,” and others.
Gladys Knight and the Pips opened for Diana Ross and The Supremes in their early years at Motown. According to Knight’s autobiography, Ross cut Knight from the tour because of her powerful performance. The creator of Motown, Berry Gordy, later expressed his displeasure with how Knight affected his performance.
Gladys Knight’s first husband: Who is James Newman?
Gladys Knight married James “Jimmy” Newman, a musician from Atlanta when she was 16 years old and pregnant. The couple later had two children despite her miscarriage. At the age of 20, Newman developed a heroin addiction and left the family. Until 1973, they were wed for more than 12 years.