‘Billy’ Knight, brother of Gladys, dies at age 55

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 10:12 a.m.

David Leon "Billy" Knight, the longtime percussionist for his older sister, pop music legend Gladys Knight, died Wednesday in Las Vegas. He was 55.

Billy Knight is the second high-profile member of Gladys' family to die in Las Vegas in the last four years. Gladys' son Jimmy Newman, her road manager, died on July 10, 1999, at age 36.

Services for Billy Knight will be 3 p.m. Sunday in Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave. Burial will follow in Palm Valley View Memorial Park.

Several members of Gladys Knight's family have served key positions in her production throughout her 26-year residency in Las Vegas and before that.

Brother Merald "Bubba" Knight Jr., was a member of the Pips, the backup group with whom she skyrocketed to fame in the 1960s and '70s, with chart-topping hits "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia."

Billy Knight was born Aug. 22, 1947, in Atlanta.

He was a Las Vegas resident for 18 years. Dubbed "an honorary Pip," he was a member of the American Federation of Musicians and appeared as a musician on several television shows.

In addition to his sister, who now goes by the name Gladys Knight McDowell, and his brother, Billy Knight is survived by a daughter, Nakita Shante Knight, and another sister, Brenda Clark, all of Las Vegas.

The family said donations can be made in Billy Knight's memory to the Elizabeth Knight Fund for Diabetes Research, 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311.