A packed house at SPAC agrees—it was simply Gladys’ (K)night

by Lois Uttley, The Knickerbocker News, August 25, 1975

When Gladys Knight strides out before an audience, she takes up the whole stage.

Not just with her immensely powerful voice, but with her whole self—her wide smile, her swinging dance steps and her broad affection for the audience.

So it’s no wonder that she packed in a huge crowd at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on a dismal night Sunday, worked her listeners to a joyful frenzy of clapping along and then sent them home happy despite the shortness of her performance (less than an hour, when you count the minutes of singing only).

Gladys Knight is a true showwoman, with all the ebullient stage presence that turns a concert into an event. She ranges wide across the stage, strolling from one end to the other, bringing in the audience.

On top of that, she is genuine. “I got here because of you people and folks like you,” she tells the audience, seeming to really mean it.

With backup from a 19-piece orchestra and, of course, the Pips, she launched into her program Sunday. Her personal repertoire is incredible—practically every song was a recognizable hit of her own.

“Neither One of Us Wants to Say Goodbye” led into “Midnight Train to Georgia” and then eventually to “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.”

“It’s been a good year,” Knight confided. We’ve done a lot.” She numbers among her achievements a new film score and the NBC summer series.

Then she proved her own musical power by tackling “The Way We Were,” a song so strongly associated with Barbra Streisand that it would probably scare off a lot of other female singers. Knight led into it with some intimate philosophizing and brought the song off with a personal smack that at least matched Streisand, if not topped her, as some of the audience seemed to think.

It’s big show business, but it’s also distinctly Gladys Knight.

Earlier in the evening the audience warmed up with some Jimmy Witherspoon, whose slow songs can dribble out in a deep rich voice like hot molasses. Even his humming can warm a crowd, especially when he turns to some of Billie Holiday’s music.

Aaron and Freddie, a ventriloquist act, was an especially well-done and unusual lead-up to Gladys Knight.

Views: 39