Saturday, Dec. 13, 1997 | 6:53 a.m.
Born June 26, 1917, in East Point, Ga., Elizabeth Knight confined her singing to the "Wings Over Jordan" gospel choir at Atlanta's Mount Moriah Baptist Church, said granddaughter Kenya Jackson, Gladys Knight's daughter.
The Mount Moriah choir also provided 4-year-old Gladys Knight with her first public showcase.
Four years later, with her mother's guidance, Gladys Knight won the national grand prize on television's "Ted Mack Amateur Hour."
The next year, Gladys Knight joined brother Bubba, sister Brenda and two cousins as the Pips. The group became Gladys Knight and The Pips in 1959 and scored their first hit, "Every Beat of My Heart," a year later.
Elizabeth Knight "literally put the group together," Kenya Jackson said of her grandmother, who died Thursday. "She's the one who set up the structure and finances."
Elizabeth Knight served as her daughter Gladys' financial officer from then on, Jackson said.
She is survived by daughters Gladys Maria Knight of Henderson and Brenda Knight Clark of Las Vegas; sons Merald "Bubba" Knight Jr. and David Leon Knight, both of Henderson; eight grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Palm Mortuary Eastern.
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