Gladys Knight
The "Queen of Soul" tag is one that has been applied to many artists over the years, and generally speaking it has always been appropriate. Aretha, Diana, Martha, Dionne, Whitney, Beyoncé -- it applies to all. Because there isn't one Queen of Soul, there are many and four of them have been grouped together for this impressive tour which hit the Kia Forum in May.
Motown star Gladys Knight was on first (she can't have opened too many shows in recent years, such is her stature). We're not going to mention Knight's age--we're not, in fact, going to mention any of these Queens' age--suffice to say that she looks incredible and sounds better.
Naturally, we get some Pips classics including the opening "Taste of Bitter Love," Love Overboard" and "I've Got to Use My Imagination." Songs such as "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" are R&B standards and they're in safe hands with Knight. And when she sings "you can always count on me, for sure" during "That's What Friends are For," we absolutely believe her.
Next up was Stephanie Mills and we have to be honest, she's the Queen on the lineup that we were least familiar with. That said, it was a joy to get acquainted.
Mills played Dorothy on the original Broadway run of The Wiz, and she would go on to score a hit with "Home" from that groundbreaking show. She pulled that out at the Forum.
Other tunes, such as "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin," "I Have Leaned to Respect the Power of Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This Before," got the Forum crowd singing along, and Mills sports a beaming smile throughout (despite some issues with the keyboard sound early in the set).
It's a family affair; Mills had her sons on stage with her, and she's clearly proud of them, as well she might be. From our point of view, we were happy to fill some gaps in our Stephanie Mills knowledge.
Patti LaBelle is famously one of America's great divas, and she absolutely fulfilled that role in Inglewood, in all of the best ways. Despite the short set, we got a costume change, and at one point LaBelle spritzed her hair.
Better still was the section of "Lady Marmalade" (a highlight of the entire night), when LaBelle pulled some guys up from the crowd to sing, dance or both. The results were mixed, but the love and respect all of the fellas had for "Miss Patti" was palpable.
The performance was excellent and the setlist a joy. The likes of "New Attitude," "On My Own," "When You Talk About love," and "If Only You Knew" showcase the fact that LaBelle can still hold her own vocally, and this crowd lapped it all up.
The final act of the evening was Chaka Khan, and she was the perfect Queen to put the cherry on this cake. Her setlist was absolutely perfect, from the opening, Prince-penned "I Feel For You" with its "Chaka-Chaka" intro, to the Rufus tunes including the closing "Ain't Nobody."
Birthday boy Stevie Wonder made an appearance alongside Khan for a glorious "Tell Me Something Good," and "Through the Fire" proved to be the singalong that we all needed.
Naturally, "I'm Every Woman" received a rapturous reception, and by the time Chaka Khan left the stage she did so with the cheers of thousands ringing in her ears.
A triumph! And ultimately, it was a joyful experience to be in the presence of these four strong, supremely talented women.
Photos by @Latishamariee for Black Promoters Collective
