1973 Gladys Knight and the Pips – Daddy Could Swear I Declare
Gladys Knight and the Pips began recording music in 1961 and had a handful of hit records on three other labels before signing with Motown Records in 1966.
The group had some success on the Hot 100 while at Motown and did even better on the R&B chart. Unfortunately, they were made to feel like a second-rate group thanks to the attention paid to Diana Ross and the Supremes.
The last single the group released before leaving Motown was the ironically titled Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye).
In early 1973, the group signed with Buddah Records and left Motown.
Motown had a large number of recordings by the group that had not been released before the group left the label. Motown repackaged some of those recordings into “new” albums. The label also continued releasing singles by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
The first single Motown released after the group left became The Look of Love. The single failed to reach any of the charts.
The next Motown single, Daddy Could Swear, I Declare, did much better. It reached #19 on the Hot 100 and stopped just shy of the top of the R&B chart in 1973.
Only two more Motown singles by Gladys Knight and the Pips reached the Hot 100, but they peaked at only #61 in 1973 and #51 in 1974.
The group’s first single on Buddah was Where Peaceful Waters Flow. The single peaked at only #28 on the Hot 100 but got as high as #6 on the R&B chart in 1973.
That song was quickly forgotten after the release of their second Buddah single: Midnight Train to Georgia. Woo-woo!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_Knight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_Knight_%26_the_Pips_discography
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What Was Left In 