Gladys Knight vs. Alicia Keys | Head 2 Head 🗣️

On the 31^st edition of Head 2 Head, Gladys Knight & The Pips and Alicia Keys contend for the best rendition of “If I Were Your Woman.” 

Welcome to Head 2 Head 🗣️! On Head 2 Head, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song together, comparing their performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  On the 31^st edition of head-to-head, 🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips and 🎙 Alicia Keys contend for the best rendition of 🎵 “If I Were Your Woman.” So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Gladys Knight & The Pips, “If I Were Your Woman”

💿 If I Were Your Woman • 🏷 Motown • 📅 1971

“If I were your woman / And you were my man / You’d have no other woman / You’d be weak as a lamb.” Ooh wee, 🎙 Gladys Knight! Say that, say that! 🎵 “If I Were Your Woman” marks one of the greatest soul classics of all time.  It ranks near the top of timeless gems recorded by 🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips.  Who penned this juggernaut, you ask? Why 🎼✍Pam Sawyer, 🎼✍ Clay McMurray, and 🎼✍ Gloria Jones.  Knight and company would be nominated for the 🏆 Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group (deservingly).  Furthermore, “If I Were Your Woman” would peak at no. 9 on the Hot 100 in 1971.  What I’m saying is, “If I Were Your Woman” was a big-time pop hit by a soul collective 💪.

Vocally, Gladys Knight & The Pips sound utterly sublime. With Knight on lead, that alto is lush, rich, and dynamic.  It’s a perfect match for the passionate lyrics that grace “If I Were Your Woman.”  Where this man has had a lousy woman, Gladys asserts she’d be his everything and treat him the way that he should be treated. “You’re like a diamond (shining) / But she treats you like glass,” she asserts on the memorable second verse, continuing, “Yet you beg her to love you / But me you don’t ask.” Ooh wee! What a fool that man is! Helping to sell her case are those harmonized supporting vocals by The Pips, on autopilot like the front woman.  You know what else is on autopilot? That vintage soul production that made the 1970s lit AF! That syncopated bass line, the keys, the strings, the groove – ear catching and awe-inspiring.  Even the underpinnings – the harmonic progression – make “If I Were You Woman” one of the best of all time. 

2. Alicia Keys, “If I Was Your Woman”

💿 The Diary of Alicia Keys • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2003

In the aughts, 🎙 Alicia Keys was a R&B force. Following her breakthrough debut album, 💿 Songs in A Minor, Keys followed up with another masterpiece, 💿 The Diary of Alicia Keys.  Sure, the likes of 🎵 “Karma”, 🎵 “You Don’t Know My Name”, and 🎵 “If I Ain’t Got You” were the crème de la crème, but a cover of the 🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips classic, 🎵 “If I Were Your Woman” is sweet too. Notably, Keys retitles it 🎵 “If I Was Your Woman / Walk on By.” 

Where does “Walk on By” come in play? Well, Keys, 🎛 Easy Mo Bee, and 🎛 Dwayne “D. Wigg” Wiggins sample the beloved 🎙 Isaac Hayes recording of 🎵 “Walk on By”. The lyrics, however, are all “If I Were Your Woman.”  In Keys’ hands, she retains the soulfulness of the original, but spices things up with a dash of hip-hop.  The sound exemplifies the neo-soul movement prevalent in the early 00s, but also sounds ‘contemporary’ despite those throwback vibes.  The tempo is quicker, and while Keys is gritty, she doesn’t infuse the same oomph as Gladys Knight.  That said, not many can reach the same heights as Knight, period.  Regardless, Keys being the musician that she is, successfully reintroduces this soul staple to a whole generation while maintaining the overall sanctity 💪.   

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️ 

Gladys Knight & The Pips or Alicia Keys?  I love, love, love the Keys rendition “If I Was Your Woman / Walk on By” being the millennial that I am BUT, Gladys wins hands down.  Knight possesses one of the greatest, most distinct, soulful voices of all time.  I’m sure that Keys would agree. Knight’s grit, nuance, and rasp truly make “If I Were Your Woman.”  That doesn’t even account for The Pips or that killer backdrop. 

Gladys Knight vs. Alicia Keys: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 31 [📷: Brent Faulkner, GenderArts from Pixabay, Motown, The Musical Hype, RCA, Valentin Tikhonov from Pixabay]