Edward Patten of Gladys Knight & The Pips fame, has died. Patten died at a Detroit area hospital early Friday of a stroke. He was 65.
William Guest, another member of the Pips and Patten’s cousin, told the Associated Press that Patten’s death was caused by a stroke he suffered earlier in the week.
Patten, a cousin of Knight, known for his tenor voice, joined the group in 1959. By 1962, the Pips lineup included Glady’s brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and Guest. The name Pips came from another cousin, James "Pip" Woods. He encouraged the quintet to sing professionally and became its booking agent — and by the late ’50s, Knight and her relatives were touring with Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke as an opening act.
By 1962, Gladys Knight & the Pips had become famous thanks to the 1961 hit "Every Beat of My Heart." The group really got it’s legs when they signed to Motown in 1966. They also recorded for Buddah Records from 1973-77. They later recorded for CBS until breaking up in 1989.
The group, whose hits included "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia," won four Grammys and was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
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