Gladys Knight almost skipped recording contract signing for track meet

Gladys Knight almost missed out a life-changing opportunity to land a recording contract in high school for a sports event.
The Midnight Train to Georgia singer played a variety of sports in high school, while also singing with her family members, known as the Pips. In 1960, Gladys and the group were invited to New York to sign with Fury Records, but the singer was hesitant because she had a track tournament the following day.
“In 1960 I was pretty much into my high school thing,” she said on an episode of Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class. “I was running track at the time… The guys, the Pips, my family… came running over to the school… telling us I had to go home. I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘Because we’re going to New York tonight because the record company (Fury Records) wants to sign us and need us in New York tomorrow’.
“I said, ‘You lying…! I ain’t going. I’m leaving for Port Valley tomorrow. We’re having a track tournament’.”
However, Knight’s mother made her go to New York.
“They said, ‘Momma says you gotta come home right now’,” she continued. “So they put me in the car and they drove me back home, and my mom explained to me what was happening… She said, ‘Babe, opportunity is a ball hit and sometimes when you don’t reach out and grab it, it’ll slip right through your fingers…’
“We left that night on a plane to New York and the rest is history… They re-released the record (Every Beat of My Heart) under Fury Records and that’s how we became Gladys Knight and the Pips, because before that I was just a Pip… There (was) no lead singer… But my mom was right. It was a great opportunity.”