Gladys Knight, 82, says she will take a step back from performing

Knight says she will take a step back from performing (Martin Rickett/PA)

Gladys Knight has announced she is taking a step back from performing as she transitions “into the next stage” of her career and life.

The singer, 82, who has been touring this year, said she plans on doing fewer performances in the future after a career spanning seven decades.

In a statement, she said: “After much soul searching, I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward.

“I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”

The performer, known for hits like Midnight Train To Georgia and I Heard It Through The Grapevine, thanked her fans for their support over the years.

She added: “I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way.

“I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you.

“I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road.

“God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”

In August 2025, Knight’s son Shanga Hankerson said in an interview with People magazine that touring was “detrimental” to his mother’s health and was mostly at the behest of her husband, William McDowell.

Knight rejected these claims in a statement, saying: “I’m sorry that my health and performances have been misrepresented.

“I’m healthy and happy and visiting friends and family these last few months.”

Her publicist Laura Herlovich said the singer was “greatly saddened” by her son’s “unfounded allegations”, adding that he has “no substantial contact” with his mother.

Knight, from Atlanta, Georgia, won The Original Amateur Hour TV contest at the age of eight and began performing with her family band, The Pips.

Their debut album was released in 1960 when Knight was 16 years old.

She began her solo career in the late 1970s and recorded the theme song for the James Bond film Licence To Kill in 1989.

Knight has received numerous honours throughout her career including inductions into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Vocal Group Hall Of Fame with The Pips.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked her as one of the top 100 best singers of all time in 2010.