Imagination (Gladys Knight & the Pips album)

Imagination
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 9, 1973 (1973-10-09)
RecordedJune – September 1973
Studio
GenreSoul
Length36:55
LabelBuddah 5141
ProducerTony Camillo, Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise, Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight, William Guest, Edward Patten
Gladys Knight & the Pips chronology
All I Need Is Time
(1973)
Imagination
(1973)
Claudine
(1974)
Singles from Imagination
  1. "Where Peaceful Waters Flow"
    Released: June 1973
  2. "Midnight Train to Georgia"
    Released: August 1973
  3. "I've Got to Use My Imagination"
    Released: November 1973
  4. "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me"
    Released: February 1974
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record GuideB
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

Imagination is the eleventh studio album recorded by American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in October 1973 on the Buddah label. The album, the group's first for Buddah after leaving Motown, includes their first and only Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "Midnight Train to Georgia", which also reached number-one on the R&B singles chart. Larry Wilcox was credited for the string and horn arrangements.

The album also produced other successful singles, including "I've Got to Use My Imagination" and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", with both songs peaking at number-one on the R&B singles chart and top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and the moderately successful single "Where Peaceful Waters Flow". The album was also their second studio album to make the top ten on the Billboard 200 and their second of five R&B albums chart-toppers.

"Window Raisin' Granny", the closing track of the album, would be sampled in two notable popular music tracks of the 2000s - Christina Aguilera's 2007 single "Slow Down Baby" and Silibil N' Brains' unreleased 2004 song "It's All Love", which would only be released in 2014.