"Love Overboard" by Gladys Knight & the Pips

Grammy Alert!

Song#:  3373

Date:  01/09/1988

Debut:  82

Peak:  13

Weeks:  14

Genre:  R&B

Pop Bits:  The last time Knight & the Pips were on the Pop chart was back in 1983 with "Save the Overtime (For Me)." The #1 R&B hit got to #66 at Pop. The associated album, Visions, would get to #34 Pop/#3 R&B and go gold. Their follow-up album, 1985's Life, didn't do nearly as well. None of its singles made the R&B Top 10 and none reached the Pop chart. During this time period, Knight did a couple of successful side projects without the Pips. Having tested the waters, Knight then decided it was time for her to go solo. Before kicking it off, Knight and the Pips got together for one more group effort. They moved over to MCA Records and recorded All Our Love. This first single introduced the LP and it easily climbed to the #1 spot at R&B. The song then caught on over at Pop and it became the group's first Top 20 entry since 1975 when they got to #11 with "The Way We Were/Try to Remember." It would also be their last single to make the Pop chart. The track also got to #4 Dance and #45 AC. The LP's second single, "Livin' on Next to Nothin'," became a #3 hit at R&B while getting to #10 Dance. The two songs helped the album reach #1 R&B and #39 Pop. It would also be a gold seller with "Love Overboard" securing the group a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Duo or Group. It was their third career Grammy. They couldn't have asked for a better way to end their 27-year run on the charts.

ReduxReview:  This track, written and co-produced by Reggie Calloway, was a terrific selection for the group. It made Knight and the Pips just as relevant in the late 80s as they were when they got their first chart entry in 1967. Unfortunately, the album didn't have another killer mainstream track like this. If Calloway had stayed on for a couple of more tunes with hit potential, the LP might have been the biggest one of their career. Still, this song and its follow-up were a great way for the group to grab some chart glory before calling it a day.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) While Gladys Knight officially kicked off her solo career following her final tour with the Pips in support of All Our Love,  she did previously record two solo album while still with the Pips. She released Miss Gladys Knight in 1978 and Gladys Knight in 1979. Neither sold well and each generated one low entry on the R&B singles chart. After ending her time with the Pips, Knight stayed on with MCA Records and recorded her third solo effort, 1991's Good Woman. The LP would reach #1 at R&B (#45 Pop) thanks to the #2 hit "Men" and the #19 "Superwoman" recorded with Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle. Neither single made the Pop chart. Her follow-up album, 1994's Just for You, would get to #6 R&B/#53 Pop. However, despite not featuring any major hits, save for the #6 Dance entry "Next Time," the album sold very well and became her only solo effort to go gold. Knight would get one last R&B Top 10 in 1996. She along with Chaka Khan, Brandy, and Tamia would record "Missing You," a track used for the soundtrack to the film Set It Off. The track would get to #10 R&B, #25 Pop, and #30 AC. Knight would continue to record albums over the years and would be a top concert attraction.  2) Prior to recording her 1991 solo album, a solo Knight recorded a couple of film soundtrack songs. The first was a 1996 duet with Bill Medley for the Sylvester Stallone action flick Cobra. The song "Living on Borrowed Time (Love Theme from Cobra)" was released as a single and it got to #16 AC. Then Knight joined the list of artists who got to record a theme song for a James Bond movie. She recorded the title track to 1989's License to Kill, the second and last Bond film to star Timothy Dalton. While the track would be a #6 hit in the UK, it became the second James Bond theme in a row to miss the US Pop chart after a-ha's "The Living Daylights" failed to chart. The next three Bond themes (by Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, and Garbage) would miss as well in the US. It would take Madonna to turn things around. She got to #8 in 2002 with "Die Another Day."

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