Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)
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"Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" is a song recorded by
Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...
. Released on December 26, 1972 on
Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
's Soul Records imprint as S 35098, it became one of their biggest hit singles to date, and was also the last single the group released prior to them leaving Motown for
Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...
in February 1973.


Background

By 1972, Gladys Knight & The Pips had spent six and a half years with Motown Records, having signed with the label in 1966. Though well known prior to signing with Motown, they achieved widespread success with the label with hits such as "
I Heard It Through the Grapevine "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a ...
", "
Nitty Gritty Glen Augustus Holness (1957–24 June 1991), otherwise known by his stage name Nitty Gritty, was a popular reggae singer. Born in the August Town section of Kingston, Jamaica, he was the second of eleven children born to religious parents. ...
" and " If I Were Your Woman". However, the group would recall being treated like outsiders in the label. Lead singer Gladys Knight recalled on A&E's ''
Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
'' that she and the group were regarded as a second-string act and that " Diana (Ross) & The Supremes,
The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...
and
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers". While on Motown, Knight & The Pips recorded for Soul Records, a label Motown used for acts that recorded material with more of an R&B flavor than a pop flavor. In 1972, the group had success with their cover of musician
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
's ballad, "
Help Me Make It Through the Night "Help Me Make It Through The Night" is a country music ballad written and composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album '' Kristofferson''. It was covered later in 1970 by Sammi Smith, on the album ''Help Me Make It Through the ...
". The song helped to make the group's transition from R&B and soul-oriented material to more middle of the road fare.


Recording

In late 1972, the group began recording songs for what would be their final Motown album, '' Neither One of Us'', at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studios in Detroit. Among the songs they would record that wound up on the album included a
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
-oriented cover of
Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
' " Who Is She (And What Is She to You)?", a cover of "
For Once in My Life "For Once in My Life" is a song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Stein & Van Stock publishing company, and first recorded in 1965. It was written and first recorded as a slow ballad. There are differing accounts of ...
" and a self-penned composition, "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare", the latter song of which they had begun promoting in the fall of 1972 through a performance on the TV program, ''
Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...
''. They also recorded a good portion of the album at Motown's Hollywood studios, MoWest. They worked on the majority of the album with producer Joe Porter, who allowed the group creative freedom in the studio. According to
Bubba Knight In American usage, "Bubba" is a term of endearment mainly given to boys. Being formed from the word "brother", it often indicates that someone is a "little brother". Etymology and history The linguist Ian Hancock has described similarities betw ...
, Porter allowed the group to co-produce the album, saying Porter would bring them the songs and allowed them to "mold dit to the Gladys Knight & The Pips' way" and upon hearing their arrangements, would tell engineers to just "turn the tape on". Porter had given them the song titled "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", a song written and first recorded by fledgling country singer-songwriter
Jim Weatherly James Dexter Weatherly (March 17, 1943 – February 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter who wrote mostly pop and country music. He played quarterback at the University of Mississippi while also writing music with his own bands. He subseq ...
. Porter had picked the song out from Weatherly's publishing company. Knight recorded her lead vocal in one take at MoWest Studios, with parts of the background by the group already done. The group then headed back from Los Angeles to Detroit but while in their car, Bubba Knight recounted that them singing the song prompted them to return to the studio to add more to the background, while Gladys redid her lead vocal. During this time period, the group's contract was up for renewal in the winter of 1973. The group eventually refused to renew it after failing to get Motown to renew their contract in "good faith" and eventually asked to be released from their contract.


Release and reaction

Following the completion of the recording, Motown issued it for promotional use in December 1972, not too long afterwards. After negotiations with Motown broke down, the group was allowed to leave the label in January 1973; shortly thereafter, the group signed a contract with
Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...
the following month in February 1973. By that point, the song was already climbing the charts on both the pop and R&B charts, on its way to give the group their biggest hit since "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" roughly six years before. Motown issued the group's final contractual album, ''Neither One of Us'', that March. On March 17, 1973, the song reached number one on the
Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
chart, staying there for four consecutive weeks. Due to the song's strong crossover appeal, it eventually peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with
Vicki Lawrence Vicki Ann Lawrence ( Axelrad; born March 26, 1949), sometimes credited as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her character Mama (Thelma Harper). Lawrence originated multitudes of charact ...
's "
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic murder ballad, written in 1972 by songwriter Bobby Russell and first recorded by his then wife, singer, comedian, and actress Vicki Lawrence. Lawrence's version, from her 1973 al ...
" blocking it from number one. However, it went number one on the U.S.
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
and Cashbox charts. It also crossed over to the adult contemporary chart, peaking at number 15. Worldwide, it was also successful, peaking at number 9 in France, number 11 in Canada and number 31 in the UK. Around this time, the group had released their first Buddah single, "Where Peaceful Waters Flow", which also was written by Jim Weatherly. The song eventually peaked at number 28 on the pop chart, presumably because Motown kept pushing "Neither One of Us" to be played at more radio stations blocking the Buddah single from reaching bigger success. By the time "Neither One of Us" had begun to peak, Buddah issued the group's second single, the Weatherly-composed " Midnight Train to Georgia", in August 1973, where the song eventually topped both pop and R&B charts, pushing the group to superstardom. Despite efforts from Motown to stop "Midnight Train", the first "posthumously"-released Motown song "Daddy Could Swear" only peaked inside the top 20. On March 2, 1974, at the Grammy Awards ceremony, Gladys Knight & The Pips won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Neither One of Us". Previously that same night, they had won their first Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Midnight Train to Georgia".


Covers and samples

*
Asha Puthli Asha Puthli is a singer-songwriter, producer, and actress born on February 4, 1945 and raised in Bombay, India. She has recorded solo albums for EMI, CBS/Sony, and RCA. Her recordings cover blues, pop, rock, soul, funk, disco, and techno a ...
recorded a cover of this song on her 1973 self-titled second solo album for CBS. * In 1973 version of the song by Australian singer Linda George outsold the original in her home country. * In 1973 country singer
Bob Luman Robert Glynn Luman (April 15, 1937 – December 27, 1978) was an American country and rockabilly singer-songwriter. Early life and career Luman was born in Blackjack, Texas, United States, though was raised in Nacogdoches, Texas. His early ...
recorded a successful cover version of "Neither One of Us ... ." His version reached number seven on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart, concurrent with the success of the Gladys Knight & the Pips' version. * Country star Ray Price covered this song in 1975. * Saxophonist
David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...
covered the song from his 1982 album '' Backstreet''. * Country artist Linda Davis covered the song on her 1995 album '' Some Things Are Meant to Be''. * R&B singer
Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...
sampled it for "No More Rain (In This Cloud)" from her 1999 album, '' Black Diamond''. * American rock and soul duo
Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
covered the song on their 2004 album ''
Our Kind of Soul ''Our Kind of Soul'' is the seventeenth studio album by Hall & Oates, released in 2004. This album contains three original tracks and 14 covers of soul hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The album is mostly acoustic with some electric guitar ...
''. * Filipina-Jamaican singer Jaya covered the track on her 2011 album ''All Souled Out'', and has included the song in many live performances from the beginning of her singing career. * The German DJ,
DJ Koze Stefan Kozalla (born 1972), better known as DJ Koze (), is a German DJ and music producer. Biography Born in Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Kozalla first became known in the Hamburg music scene. In the early 1990s, he started as a rapper and DJ ...
, sampled the chorus in the single “Pick Up” (released in 2018).


Personnel

*Lead vocals by
Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...
*Background vocals by Gladys Knight,
Bubba Knight In American usage, "Bubba" is a term of endearment mainly given to boys. Being formed from the word "brother", it often indicates that someone is a "little brother". Etymology and history The linguist Ian Hancock has described similarities betw ...
, William Guest and Edward Patten *Instrumentation by the
Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...
and assorted orchestra players


Chart history


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


References


Sources

*


External links

*
Song Review A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
on
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

List of cover versions of ""
at SecondHandSongs.com * {{authority control Songs about parting 1972 songs 1972 singles 1973 singles Gladys Knight & the Pips songs Motown singles Cashbox number-one singles Pop ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Songs written by Jim Weatherly Soul ballads 1970s ballads