In the summer of 1973, Gladys Knight and the Pips unveiled their masterpiece, Midnight Train to Georgia. It became an international smash hit and earned them a lofty place in the history of American pop music. Billboard Magazine recently ranked it at No. 74 on its Top 500 greatest hits of all-time.

Episode 1 of our new documentary podcast (Midnight Train from Jersey) takes you behind the scenes where the music makers themselves tell you the remarkable back story of how this iconic record was created. Including the struggles and setbacks that nearly kept this record from ever being made — until the planets finally aligned.  

Stay tuned for future episodes in which we broaden the scope of this extraordinary chapter in the magnificent yet tragic history of Black music in America.  

We will track the long, often perilous journey Gladys Knight and the Pips had to navigate before they reached their defining moment. The music industry of the 1960s and 70s was like no other time. It was ground-breaking, pulsating, and historic.

Black music was “crossing over” to white audiences in a big way. And with it was a new, exploding stream of cash revenue that attracted grifters, pretenders and mobsters who wanted in on the action. This was the volatile world where artistic expression meets commerce. It was the heyday of Payola and exploitation.

It didn’t take long for The Pips – a group of talented, naïve teenagers from Atlanta – to fall prey to the dark side of the industry.  And they also came to realize that the faces of these sinister forces would adapt and change, but never go away.