Gladys Knight & The Pips was one of the most influential Motown groups of the mid-twentieth century. The band was formed in 1952 by eight-year-old Gladys Knight along with her siblings Marlon and Brenda Knight and cousins Eleanor and William Guest. The Guests departed in 1960 and were replaced by Edward Patten, who would become a permanent member, and Langston George who left within three years. In 1962, the band released its debut studio album "Letter Full of Tears." Shortly thereafter, Gladys left the band to start a family. She returned in 1964. Over the next two and a half decades, the band released dozens of Motown's greatest singles including hits like "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Town to Georgia," have both been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1989, Gladys Knight & The Pips disbanded so that Knight could pursue a solo career.