Misplaced Pages

William Guest
Guest (left) with Gladys Knight & the Pips, 1974
Background information
Birth name	William Franklin Guest
Born	(1941-06-02)June 2, 1941 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 24, 2015(2015-12-24) (aged 74) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop music
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, producer
Formerly of	Gladys Knight & the Pips

William Franklin Guest (June 2, 1941 – December 24, 2015) was an American R&B/soul singer best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips along with his cousins Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight and Edward Patten. Guest was a member of the group for its entire history, from 1952 to 1989. He is a multiple Grammy Award winner and was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1996.

Biography

Guest was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1941. He was an original member of Gladys Knight & the Pips along with his sister Eleanor Guest and cousins Brenda, Gladys and Merald "Bubba" Knight. Guest had occasional lead recordings during the group's long career, including the 1964 B-side "Maybe Maybe Baby" to their original recording of "Giving Up" and "Window Raisin' Granny" from their 1973 hit album Imagination. "Window Raisin' Granny" was sampled by LL Cool J and Christina Aguilera among others. Following his stint with The Pips, Guest and fellow Pip Edward Patten formed Patten and Guest Productions, and following Patten's death in 2005, he continued to manage artists through the Crew Entertainment company he formed with members of Patten's family.

Guest died on December 24, 2015, of congestive heart failure in Detroit, Michigan, his home for fifty years. He was 74 years old.

Awards

Guest was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1996.

Bibliography

• Guest, William Franklin; Ziegler, Dr. Dame Dhyana (2012). Midnight Train From Georgia: A Pip's Journey. Boston: Branden Books. ISBN 978-0828324694.

References

1. "Gladys Knight & The Pips Still Sizzle After 35 Years Together". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. January 25, 1988. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
2. Dollar, Steve (October 11, 1992). "A Pip of a record mogul: with indie label, William Guest helps newcomers make music". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. K2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Gladys Knight and the Pips". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
4. "William Guest, Longtime Member of Gladys Knight and the Pips, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 27, 2015. p. A16.

External links

• "William Guest". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• William Guest at IMDb
• William Guest at Find a Grave

This article about a United States rhythm and blues singer is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• 1941 births
• 2015 deaths
• 20th-century African-American male singers
• 20th-century American male singers
• 20th-century American singers
• 21st-century African-American musicians
• American male dancers
• American male singers
• American rhythm and blues singers
• American soul musicians
• American soul singers
• Burials at South-View Cemetery
• Gladys Knight & the Pips members
• Knight family (show business)
• Singers from Atlanta
• Musicians from Detroit
• American rhythm and blues singer stubs