Gladys Knight & the Pips gold. Knight still records and performs today. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she sometimes leads the Saints Unified Voices choir. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1998. Gladys Knight & the Pips are ranked as the ninth most successful act in "The Billboard Top 40 Book of R&B and Hip-Hop Hits" (2005). They were also ranked No. 91 on VH1's "Top 100 Artists of
Gladys Knight & the Pips now opening for top recording acts such as Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. By 1959, Brunswick dropped the group and both Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest left the group to begin families. They were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a friend, Langston George. Patten and George were involved in another group before joining the Pips. In 1961, they recorded their version of Johnny Otis' "Every Beat of My Heart". Because the group was without a record label, a local Atlanta label, Huntom Records, pushed the single and got a distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records to release the single.