Gladys Knight Leaves Departed Pips Member William Guest in God’s Care

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gladys Knight is asking God to look after one of her beloved band members who has died.

Knight and her brother, Merald "Bubba" Knight, released a statement Sunday about Pips member William Guest, who died last week at 74 of congestive heart failure.

"We have lost many along the way; Edward Patten, Eleanor Guest, and now William Guest," Gladys Knight said. "We tried using our gifts of music in a way that would be pleasing to God. Please, take care of their journeys home and I say thank you Lord for a long and wonderful ride."

Merald Knight said Guest was "more like a 'big' brother to me than a distant cousin."

"From day one, when the Pips were formed, we were two Road Warriors, succeeding against the odds of the show business," Knight said.