Merald "Bubba" Knight has lived in the Detroit area since the mid 1960s. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Merald "Bubba" Knight Merald Woodlow "Bubba" Knight, Jr. (born September 4, 1942 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. The older brother of lead singer Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight served as the unofficial leader of the group, and was instrumental in handling the Pips' business matters. Gladys Knight & The Pips evolved out of The Pips. The original Pips formed in Atlanta in 1952, with
Gladys Knight & the Pips musical director. Eventually Gladys reunited with the Pips and signed with a local New York label, Maxx Records, that year. During that time, Newman served as the group's musical director. During this period, the group would be mentored by Maurice King and Cholly "Pops" Atkins; their association with King going back to the group's early years traveling to Detroit. The group recorded a third top 40 single with Van McCoy's "Giving Up". The group developed a reputation for exciting and polished live performances that enabled them to work even without the benefit of best-selling records. Choreographer Atkins designed "fast-stepping" dance