Gladys Knight & the Pips routines that became a signature of the Pips' stage presentation; Atkins later described his working and personal relationship with the group in his autobiography, "Class Act: The Jazz Life of Choreographer Cholly Atkins": "The one thing that I was pleased about was a stipulation in my contract that allowed me to keep working with Gladys Knight & the Pips as personal clients even though I would be an employee of Motown Records. To tell the truth, Gordy wasn't too happy about it at first, but this is something that I would not compromise under any circumstances. By that time, Gladys
Gladys Knight & the Pips single, "Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me", also reached the charts in England. Their third single, "Everybody Needs Love", became the group's first American charted single in two years, reaching number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three R&B after its release in 1967. On the A&E Network television program "Biography", Knight stated that she and the Pips were regarded as a second-string act, and that "Diana (Ross) & the Supremes, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers." In Knight's autobiography, "Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: