Elizabeth ‘Gram’ Knight; Mother of Singer Gladys Knight

Elizabeth “Gram” Knight, 80, the mother who was instrumental in forming Gladys Knight and the Pips. Knight, who until her death served as her daughter’s financial officer, sang in the Wings Over Jordan gospel choir at Atlanta’s Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. In 1959, Gladys, brother Bubba, sister Brenda and two cousins became the Pips and scored their first hit, “Every Beat of My Heart.” Family members credit “Gram” Knight with setting up the structure and finances and putting the group together. It was Knight too, they said, who moved the family to Las Vegas 20 years ago. Knight founded the Talent Galore firm and was active in the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. On Thursday in Las Vegas.