Gladys Knight & the Pips company with members of Patten's family until his death from congestive heart failure in Detroit on December 24, 2015. Two years prior, Guest and his sister, Dame Dhyana Ziegler, PhD, released his autobiography, "Midnight Train FROM Georgia: A Pip's Journey" (Branden Books, Boston, MA, USA), about his life and career. In 2007, Bubba Knight and Guest, along with a third man, Neil Taffe (one of Gladys Knight's background singers), appeared in a commercial for Geico. In 1997, original Pips member Eleanor Guest died of heart failure. Langston George died on 19 March 2007 from congestive heart failure. Bubba Knight still
Gladys Knight & the Pips Were/Try to Remember". By 1977, the group ran into contract disputes with both Motown and Buddah Records. After asking to be released from their contract from Buddah, the label forced the band to record side projects while the dispute was settled. Between 1978 and 1980, Knight released two solo albums and the Pips released two side albums. In a segment for Richard Pryor's TV special, the Pips (minus Gladys) appeared on his show performing their backup verses for the songs "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia"; during parts where Gladys would sing, the camera panned