The Midnighters the first million-selling hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips), and "Starting from Tonight" (written by Tucker). Ballard began writing for the group and became its lead singer. The group had some success and moved to another King Records subsidiary, Federal Records, for which they recorded "Get It", their first major R&B hit, which spent seven weeks in the Top 10 on the R&B chart and also sold well in mainstream markets. Around this time, the group's name was considered too similar to that of another group on the King roster, the "5" Royales, and the name was changed to
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.