Gladys Knight vs. James Cleveland | Head 2 Head 🗣️

In the 41^st edition of Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️ (2022), Gladys Knight & The Pips and James Cleveland contend for the best rendition of “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” 

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song (or similar songs), 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.  In the 41^st  edition of head 🗣️2 head 🗣️ (2022), 🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips and 🎙 James Cleveland contend for the best rendition of 🎵 “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Gladys Knight & The Pips, “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”

💿 Imagination • 🏷 RCA • 🗓 1973

“If anyone should ever write my life story / For whatever reason, there might be…” Those iconic lines hail from the chorus of the beloved 🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips classic, 🎵 “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”.  How beloved is “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”? Well, the 🎼 ✍ Jim Weatherly-penned joint earned success on the pop charts, peaking impressively at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The utterly sublime chorus continues, “Ooh, you’ll be there between each line of pain and glory / ‘Cause you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Clearly, 🎙 Gladys Knight, who handles the lead, backed up by 🎙 The Pips, sings about a legitimate love – one that’s everlasting.  Not Jesus like Rev. James Cleveland, but, speaks to a committed, loving relationship. In the first verse, Knight is thankful to have his companionship: “I guess you could say that I’ve been lucky / Well, I guess you could say it’s all because of you.” Aww! Taken out of context, you could argue that Knight could possibly be speaking about a higher power, but the second verse debunks this: “‘Cause for every moment that I’ve spent hurting / There was a moment that I spent, just loving you.”  This is an incredibly positive and thoughtful song from 1973’s 💿 Imagination. It’s one of the top soul classics of all time – truly stunning.

Appears in 🔻:

• Gladys Knight & The Pips, “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 100 (2022)

2. James Cleveland, “Jesus is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”

💿 The King of Gospel Music • 🏷 Savoy • 📅 2021

“I heard Gladys Knight sing this song the other day… I changed the words…” Gospel music icon 🎙 James Cleveland transformed 🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips’ 🎵 “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” into a surefire gospel classic: 🎵 “Jesus is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”. “Now I don’t know who Gladys Knight was talking about, but you know what / Jesus is the best thing that ever happened.” Just as he states in the recording, Cleveland does change the words on the 🎼✍ Jim Weatherly-penned joint. Even so, it’s worth noting, that the reverend gives Gladys her props.

In the original, Gladys Knight is singing to a significant other.  Rev. James Cleveland, The King of Gospel Music, is singing praises to The Most High.  “Well, I guess you could say God has blessed me,” he sings early on, adding, “But there’s never been a time in my life He didn’t bring me through.” Now that’s inspiring! Amen! From there, Cleveland sings the chorus of the original (essentially a verse in his hands), with melodic and harmonic tweaks, leading to his own chorus:

“Jesus is the best thing that ever happened

Jesus is the best thing that ever happened

Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

 The big takeaway is that Cleveland repurposes one of the greatest soul classics into one of the greatest gospel classics.  He retains many of Weatherly’s brilliant lyrics, but directs them to God, slackens the tempo, and alters the music (harmonically and melodically).  You might say, Rev. James makes it truly his own.

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️

🎙 Gladys Knight & The Pips or 🎙 James Cleveland?  Both of these records are awesome – surefire classics in their respective genres.  That said, when it all comes down to it, there wouldn’t be 🎵 “Jesus is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” without 🎵 “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”.  So, the winner is the original.

Gladys Knight vs. James Cleveland: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 41 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Kool Shooters, Layers, Mario Aranda, The Musical Hype, Pexels, Pixabay, RCA, RODNAE Productions, Savoy, Valentin Tikhonov]