Four titans in the music industry, who united for the Queens Tour this year, made the first of two stops in New Jersey on Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark.
“The Queens Tour: 4 Legends. 1 Stage” concert features the extraordinary voices and talents of legendary Grammy Award-winning artists Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills, and Chaka Khan.
Knight, a seven-time Grammy-winner, opened the nearly sold-out show at 8 p.m. with the uptempo songs “Taste Of Bitter Love,” followed by “Love Overboard.”
The 1996 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who began her career with her siblings and other family members as Gladys Knight in the Pips, later performed hits, including “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me,” “If I Were Your Woman,” and “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye).”
Known as the “Empress of Soul,” Knight, who celebrated her 81st birthday on May 28, closed her set in just under 30 minutes with the Donnie McClurkin gospel hit “Stand.” She also performed “That’s What Friends Are For,” her collaboration with fellow icons Dionne Warwick, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder, before ending with a hit likely inspired by her early career travels, “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
The Queens Tour
The youngest and most energetic of the touring legends, Brooklyn-native Stephanie Mills, opened her set with the uptempo “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ ” and the mid-tempo “(You’re Puttin’) a Rush on Me.” The Grammy Award-winner also performed “Something in the Way You Make Me Feel,” and allowed her three male background singers to shine on an extended version of “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love.” The powerful vocalist who stands at four feet, nine inches, ended her performance in just over 30 minutes with the uptempo “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” for which she won a Grammy in 1981, and “Home,” perhaps the hit she is best known for from her role as Dorothy in the 1975 Broadway production of “The Wiz.”
The Queens Tour
The eldest tour member, Patti LaBelle — four days older than Knight — opened with “Something Special (Is Gonna Happen Tonight),” then greeted the crowd: “Good evening, Newark. Newark, New Jersey, I love you, I’m happy to be here, and could you give the ladies a big hand, Stephanie, Chaka Khan, and Gladys what?” The audience answered, “Knight!” She briefly introduced her next song before launching into “Love, Need and Want You.”
Afterward, LaBelle, who began her career with Cindy Birdsong, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash in a group called LaBelle, performed songs including “On My Own,” joined by one of her male background vocalists, Aaron Marcellus, who performed Michael McDonald’s verse on the Burt Bacharach-written and produced mid-1980s classic duet.
She then performed hits like “New Attitude,” “My Love, Sweet Love” from the 1995 Waiting To Exhale soundtrack, and “Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is).
After a quick wardrobe change, LaBelle returned to the stage in a vibrant purple and green outfit and performed “If Only You Knew,” followed by “You Are My Friend,” which she sang as images of late icons Michael Jackson, Prince, Lena Horne and others appeared on a jumbotron behind her. She closed with an extended version of “Lady Marmalade,” inviting men from the audience to join her on stage.
The Queens Tour
Up next was 10-time Grammy winner Chaka Khan, who closed the show. Khan took the stage after a video featuring Michelle Obama, Prince, and Whitney Houston played, praising her. She then opened her set with “This Is My Night,” followed by the uptempo “Do You Love What You Feel” and “Everlasting Love.” The Chicago native acknowledged 17-time Grammy-winning artist Alicia Keys, who was in the audience, urged fans to see Keys’ Tony-winning musical “Hell’s Kitchen”, and dedicated “What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me” to her.
Khan, nicknamed the Queen of Funk, then performed “Sweet Thing,” one of her most popular songs, more recently covered by Mary J. Blige on her 1992 debut album, also titled “Sweet Thing, “Through the Fire,” “My Funny Valentine, “Tell Me Something Good,” and her popular cover of Prince’s “I Feel For You.” Next, it was the song remade by Whitney Houston on “The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack” album, “I’m Every Woman.” Khan briefly exited, then returned for an encore, closing her hour-long set with “Ain’t Nobody.”
New Jerseyans can see the Queens Tour on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The tour, which began in Las Vegas in May, also visits Washington, D.C., on Friday before ending on Sunday at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.
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