Gladys, Chaka, Patti, and Stephanie Are Touring Together; Here’s How Iconic That Is!

(March 27, 2025).  The stars have aligned, literally and astrologically.

Stephanie Mills, 68, and Chaka Khan, 72, are both Aries whose birthdays are a day apart — on March 22 and 23, respectively.  Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight are two Geminis born four days apart in 1944.  They’ll be 81 on May 24 and May 28, respectively.

This year, as if their common astrologies had dictated that their musical stars must align, they will bring their combined talents to the concert stage in a tour billed as “The Queens – Khan, LaBelle, Knight & Mills.”  Beginning in Las Vegas on May 9 and winding through eleven different cities through June 1, including Oakland, Birmingham, Nashville, Baltimore, Chicago, and others, before picking up again in September for a six-stop leg that’ll end in Washington, DC, this R&B tour of living legends will be unlike any other lineup ever put together.  When else have you had four soul music icons with 300-plus years of living and 225 years of professional recording careers together in one show?!

Can I Be A Witness?

As lifelong fans of Chaka and Gladys, I’ve seen both women in concert — Chaka three times — and nothing beats her trademark sidestep dance move as she shimmies to legendary tracks like “Hollywood,” “Tell Me Something Good,” and, of course, the sublime “I’m Every Woman.”  I had the pleasure of seeing Gladys onstage in Chicago in 2018 with the O’Jays.  Watching the then-74-year-old Empress of Soul get down to the “Nitty Gritty” on that song plus classics like “Neither One of Us,” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” and her signature “Midnight Train to Georgia” was nothing short of sublime.

I’ve also been a huge fan of Stephanie Mills, the diminutive singer whose powerhouse vocals have always belied her tiny frame.  What I wouldn’t give to see her perform early disco classics like “Put Your Body In It” and “Sweet Sensation” to go along with her many No. 1 soul ballads or the million-selling pop crossover “Never Knew Love Like This Before.”

And Patti is the undisputed Goddess of Soul, so she’s sure to bring her raw energy to beloved classics like “If Only You Knew,” “Love, Need & Want You,” and “Somebody Loves You.”  But, as a huge fan of her early stuff, I would love to see her get down and dirty with early disco/funk classics like “What Can I Do For You” and “Joy to Have Your Love.”

Each of these women are headliners in their own right and could easily pack a venue by themselves — even at their mature ages — but to come together and give fans the show of a lifetime in 2025?  That’s just priceless!

Hit-Making Queens

Consider that, between them (including their hits with the groups three of them fronted), Gladys, Chaka, Patti and Stephanie have had a combined 202 hits on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, including 153 that made the top 40 of that chart, 82 that reached the top 10, and 28 No. 1s (see table breakdown below).  How does one even begin to pick a two-hour setlist from a repertoire like that?

Even their crossover game was nothing to wince at.  They’ve all had at least one top ten hit on the pop chart and two of them — Gladys and Patti — have had multiple No. 1s there.  Gladys topped that chart with her group The Pips in 1973 (“Midnight Train to Georgia”) and again with Dionne (Warwick) & Friends in 1986 (“That’s What Friends Are For”).  Patti had No. 1s with her group LaBelle in 1975 (“Lady Marmalade”) and again with Michael McDonald in 1986 (“On My Own”).

A History of Collaboration 

This grouping of R&B divas was not a random one.  Gladys and Patti have been ride-or-die friends for decades (since at least the early 1960s).  Stephanie and Chaka have been the same.  Both sets of friends did the online battle show Verzuz, which, in their cases, was nothing resembling a fight.  If anything, it was a collaborative love fest between the two sets of powerhouse vocalists showing how singing (and sisterhood) should be done.  Gladys and Patti also teamed up with fellow legend Dionne on a 1986 HBO Special “Sisters in the Name of Love,” where each woman’s individuality was celebrated along with several ensemble performances.

Related reading: Patti and Gladys on Verzuz

More reading: Chaka and Stephanie on Verzuz

They’ve also collaborated in the studio.  Knight and LaBelle famously joined Warwick on a remake of Karyn White’s “Superwoman” in 1991.  Their version of the classic earned them a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (losing to Boyz II Men’s debut album).  Gladys and Chaka also teamed up (with Brandy and ‘90s Canadian singer Tamia) on the song “Missing You,” not to be confused with Diana Ross’ Marvin Gaye tribute.  The 1996 joint effort earned a Grammy nod for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (which they lost to Natalie Cole and her late father Nat King Cole on their technology-assisted duet “When I Fall In Love”).

Stephanie Mills, who had recorded a classic remake of Knight’s “If I Was Your Woman” and made it the title track of her biggest album in 1987, joined Khan (along with Ron Isley and Angela Winbush) in a rousing tribute to Knight at the 1988 Soul Train Music Awards.  Mills’ If I Was Your Woman, btw, was one of four RIAA platinum-certified albums she had in the 1980s, more than any other Black female that decade.  Imagine her and Gladys dueting on the title track, and then Patti and Chaka joining their two friends to finish the set with an ensemble performance of the perfect closer, “I’m Every Woman.”

Given their undeniable histories and their inimitable collective catalog of hits and powerful anthems, it’s likely that Gladys will bring her smoldering vocals, Patti her boundless energy, Stephanie her fire, and Chaka her funk to the stage, and anyone fortunate enough to witness will be the better for it!

Their Combined Chart Success

Below is a tabulation of their amazing chart histories, followed by a chronological listing of all their No. 1 R&B hits.  It’s worth noting that Ms. Knight achieved No. 1 soul chart hits on six different record labels (Vee-Jay, Soul, Buddah, Columbia, MCA, and Arista), which is likely still a record for an artist in a lead role. Both below tables are further proof that these women aren’t just highly acclaimed talents, but superstars with the receipts to back up their iconic status.

*In addition to these 28 No. 1 hits, the four women have had 23 near-misses, songs that peaked at No. 2 or 3 on the chart.  Combined with all the other hits and classic album tracks that never saw the charts, then your guess of what would be a complete setlist for this show is as good as mine.

Still, something tells me this is the show of a lifetime — one that O.G.s like me won’t want to miss (and I won’t).  If these four women’s stars aligned to make this happen, then we’re the lucky ones to witness it!

DJRob

DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff!  You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.

DJRob (@djrobblog) on Threads

You can also register for free (select the menu bars above) to receive notifications of future articles.