William Guest (singer)

{{Short description|American soul singer (1941–2015)}} {{other people|William Guest}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = William Guest | image = Gladys Knight and the Pips on Soul Train.jpg | alt = | caption = Guest (left) with [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]], 1974 | image_size = | landscape =  | background = solo_singer | birth_name = William Franklin Guest | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date|1941|06|02}} | birth_place = [[Atlanta]], Georgia, U.S. | death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2015|12|24|1941|06|02}}}} | death_place = [[Detroit]], Michigan, U.S. | genre = [[R&B music|R&B]], pop music | occupation = Singer, songwriter, producer | instrument = | years_active =  | label = | past_member_of = [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]] }}

'''William Franklin Guest''' (July 2, 1941 – December 24, 2015) was an American [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]/[[soul music|soul]] singer best known as a member of [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]]<ref name="jet880125"/><ref name="aj921011"/> along with his cousins [[Gladys Knight]], [[Merald "Bubba" Knight]] and [[Edward Patten]]. Guest was a member of the group for its entire history, from 1952 to 1989. He is a multiple [[Grammy Award]] winner and was inducted to the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] with Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1996.<ref name="rrhof"/>

==Biography== Guest was born July 2, 1941 in [[Atlanta]], Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 August 2025 |title=Guest, William Franklin, 1941-2015 |url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2012068669.html |access-date=29 August 2025 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref> He was an original member of Gladys Knight & the Pips along with his sister Eleanor Guest and cousins Brenda, Gladys and Merald "Bubba" Knight. Guest had occasional lead recordings during the group's long career, including the 1964 [[B-side]] "Maybe Maybe Baby" to their original recording of "[[Giving Up]]" and "Window Raisin' Granny" from their 1973 hit album ''[[Imagination (Gladys Knight & the Pips album)|Imagination]]''. "Window Raisin' Granny" was sampled by [[LL Cool J]] and [[Christina Aguilera]] among others. Following his stint with The Pips, Guest and fellow Pip [[Edward Patten]] formed Patten and Guest Productions, and following Patten's death in 2005, he continued to manage artists through the Crew Entertainment company he formed with members of Patten's family.

Guest died on December 24, 2015, of [[congestive heart failure]] in Detroit, Michigan, his home for fifty years. He was 74 years old.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/28/arts/music/william-guest-longtime-member-of-gladys-knight-and-the-pips-dies-at-74.html |title=William Guest, Longtime Member of Gladys Knight and the Pips, Dies at 74 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |page=A16 |date=December 27, 2015}}</ref> He is interred at [[South-View Cemetery]] in Atlanta.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/at-south-view-cemetery-winifred-watts-hemphill-is-keeper-of-black-atlantas-departed-history/ | title=At South-View Cemetery, Winifred Watts Hemphill is keeper of black Atlanta's departed history | last=Solomon | first=Adina | date=August 9, 2018 | magazine=[[Atlanta Magazine]] | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820024809/https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/at-south-view-cemetery-winifred-watts-hemphill-is-keeper-of-black-atlantas-departed-history/ | archive-date=August 20, 2018 | access-date=September 3, 2018 }}</ref>

==Awards== Guest was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1996.<ref name="rrhof"/>

==Bibliography== *{{cite book |title=Midnight Train From Georgia: A Pip's Journey |first1=William Franklin |last1=Guest |first2= Dr. Dame Dhyana |last2=Ziegler |year=2012 |publisher=Branden Books |location=Boston |isbn=978-0828324694}}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="rrhof">{{cite web |publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] |title=Gladys Knight and the Pips |url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/gladys-knight-and-pips |access-date=June 8, 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404190446/https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/gladys-knight-and-pips | archive-date=April 4, 2020 }}</ref> <ref name="jet880125">{{cite news |work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]] |title=Gladys Knight & The Pips Still Sizzle After 35 Years Together |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bLsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58 |date=January 25, 1988 |publisher=Johnson Publishing Company |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref> <ref name="aj921011">{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |title=A Pip of a record mogul: with indie label, William Guest helps newcomers make music |first=Steve |last=Dollar |page=K2 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53049475/a-pip-of-a-record-mogul-with-indie/ | via=[[newspapers.com]] |date=October 11, 1992 |access-date=June 8, 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608203104/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53049475/a-pip-of-a-record-mogul-with-indie/ | archive-date=June 8, 2020 }}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *{{Rockhall}} *{{IMDb name|1144469}} *{{Find a Grave|156351918}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guest, William}} [[Category:1941 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century African-American male singers]] [[Category:20th-century American male singers]] [[Category:20th-century American singers]] [[Category:21st-century African-American musicians]] [[Category:American male dancers]] [[Category:American rhythm and blues singers]] [[Category:American soul musicians]] [[Category:American soul singers]] [[Category:Burials at South-View Cemetery]] [[Category:Gladys Knight & the Pips members]] [[Category:Knight family (show business)]] [[Category:Singers from Atlanta]] [[Category:Musicians from Detroit]]