Gladys Knight & the Pips cousin, Edward Patten and a non-relative, Langston George in 1959. This lineup produced the group's first hit single, "Every Beat of My Heart". After the single was released on three different labels, they changed their name to "Gladys Knight & the Pips" in 1961. Langston George left the same year and Gladys Knight left in 1962 to start a family with musician Jimmy Newman. Knight rejoined in 1964 and this lineup continued until the group's disbandment in 1989. The group reached commercial success after signing with Motown Records in 1966. After a year and a half, the group recorded the
A Trick of the Tail on an ARP 2500 synthesizer. Collins thought the group could carry on as an instrumental act, but other group members felt that it would be boring without vocals. The group had still not decided on a replacement singer, so they decided to start recording backing tracks and audition singers as they went. Some songs such as "Ripples..." were written with the intention that Collins could sing them, similar to "More Fool Me" on "Selling England by the Pound", but he did not want to take over as a permanent replacement, opting instead to teach potential lead singers the songs. The