Gladys Knight and The O'Jays are returning to Detroit's historic Fox Theatre, this time together in concert for a special Mother's Day headlining performance on Sunday, May 8 at 7 p.m.
Tickets ($59.50, $99.50 and $125) go on sale Saturday, March 5 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. For additional information, call (313) 471-6611. Lineup is subject to change.
The great ones endure, and
Gladys Knight has long been one of the greatest. Very few singers over the last fifty years have matched her unassailable artistry. This seven-time Grammy winner has enjoyed #1 hits in Pop, Gospel, R&B and Adult Contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performance.
In her first effort since 2013's Another
Journey - Knight's 8th solo effort - the summer of 2015 marked the release of "Where My Heart Belongs", a new inspiration gospel album. Knight is a two-time Grammy winner in the gospel category and recently won an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Gospel Album."
Another
Journey enjoyed success from the hit "I Who Have Nothing" as well as the up-tempo track "Settle," produced by
Randy Jackson, with whom she previously collaborated with on her Grammy-winning album, At Last. Knight also enjoyed the success of her song "You and I Ain't Nothin' No More" which appeared over the end credits of the critically acclaimed
Lee Daniels film The Butler.
The O'Jays are touring history, a connection to an era and a sound that formed the soundtrack for the lives of several generations. The O'Jays are still hitting the road with the same electrifying energy they've had for over 50 years.
Walter Williams and
Eddie Levert first met when they were the ages of six and seven respectively. As teenagers in Canton, Ohio, they formed a band originally consisting of Eddie Levert,
Walter Williams,
William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles.
In 1963, the band took the name The O'Jays in tribute to Cleveland radio disc jockey and over the years several members have changed, but the core, original lead singers
Eddie Levert and
Walter Williams, continue to front the group. In 1972, Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters with whom the O'Jays had been working for several years, signed the group to their Philadelphia International label.
With this magic formula, often called The Sound of Philadelphia, The O'Jays scored the first number 1 and million sellers, "Backstabbers." Subsequently, they succeeded with various chart topping pop and R&B singles including "Love Train," "Put Your Hands Together," "For The Love of Money," "I Love Music," "Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet, Tender, Love)," "Livin' For The Weekend" and "Use Ta Be My Girl." This success propelled The O'Jays to be the first black vocal group to perform in arenas throughout America during the 70s and 80s.
The O'Jays were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Groups Hall of Fame in 2005.They were honored with BET's Life Time Achievement Award in 2009. In 2013, they were inducted into The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame. Today, the songs of The O'Jays are still being used in many movies commercials and TV shows. "For The Love of Money" continues to be the theme song for The Apprentice.
Photo Credit: Derek Blanks
Comments
To post a comment, you must
register and
login.
