Fate has been kind. So Gladys Knight won't dare tempt it by admitting that there are songs she's recorded and performed throughout her 40-year career that she'd rather not sing again.
"That would be like slapping God in the face," said Knight, who came to Atlanta for last week's VIP grand opening of the Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles restaurant in Midtown and a performance with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra .Music may be her livelihood, but the singer counts her three children as her "greatest blessing."
"It's not about my voice," she said, "it's about my kids."
Eldest son Jimmy Newman Jr., 37, manages her singing career. Daughter Kenya Newman, 33, recently opened Kenya's Gourmet Bakery - featuring cakes created by Knight, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle and Dionne Warwick - in Las Vegas. And son Shanga Hankerson, 20, will help run the restaurant in Atlanta.
"I've always wanted to get into the restaurant business, and now I'm able to do it vicariously through my kids," Knight said.
Road trips such as Saturday's appearance are managed by Knight's brother Bubba, one of the three singing "Pips," whom Knight ceased performing with in 1991.
That she can keep in contact with any of her loved ones, given the demands on her time, is significant. Besides touring year-round, she's expanding the "Gladys Knight Special" that aired in March into a syndicated daily variety show.
On the recording front, she's in pre-production for two albums. One will be her first gospel album, with contributions from gospel-pop crossover star Kirk Franklin.
Knight is also putting the finishing touches on her autobiography, titled "Between Each Line of Pain and Glory: My Life Story," which Hyperion will publish this fall.