Gladys Knight and Vince Gill star in 'Rhythm, Country and Blues' TV Special

Jet, March 7, 1994

The musical marriage of rhythm and blues and country is cause to celebrate when Gladys Knight and Vince Gill star in a PBS television special on March 2.

The blues get country and country gets the blues in this collaboration of musical favorites titled "Rhythm Country & Blues, An In The Spotlight Special" (check local listings). Knight and Gill are joined by a host of other stars from the worlds of R&B and C&W as they tear down long-standing racial barriers in the music industry.

Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, the Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell classic, is revamped with the soulful stirrings of Ms. Knight and Gill. She said having the opportunity to perform the tune brought back a lot of fond memories for her.

"The song really takes me back ... You know how songs become important in your life; you say, |Oh, I liked to dance to that or I was going to the park a lot during those days' or what have you, but that song brings back great memories - summertime memories, for some reason, for me."

Gill said he was thrilled at the idea of doing a number with one of his musical favorites. "When the concept first came up for this idea ... I was just flying high. I said, |Man, I get to sing with Gladys Knight.'" He added, "It's a treat for me because I really feel like deep down in my heart that R&B music and country music are the same without question."

Joining them in this star-studded lineup are Al Green and Lyle Lovett, who collaborate on Funny How Time Slips Away. Green said he jumped at the chance since "They tell me (Lyle) sings almost anything. He sings gospel. He sings blues, he sings country and it should be a great adventure with this guy because he sings all of that."

Lovett compared his experience of singing with one of his musical favorites to a kid at a World Series game. "It's like you went to a game ... and it's the bottom of the ninth and they say, |Why don't you come down here and take a turn at bat.?' It's like that to be able to sing with someone that you've listened to and is such an influence."

Aaron Neville and Trisha Yearwood team up for a heart-wrenching rendition of I Fall To Pieces and Little Richard and Tanya Tucker are a classic combination on Somethin' Else. Little Richard said he would classify all the music as soul since "Soul is when you sing from the heart and it reaches the heart" regardless of color.

There was no vocal battle when powerhouse vocalist Patti LaBelle and country star Travis Tritt became a musical twosome for When Something Is Wrong With My Baby on the PBS special. She said, "He can hold his own. I don't feel that I can out-sing him, nor can he out-sing me. We complement each other."

He agreed. "I don't think it's so much competition as it is inspiration." Tritt said when Ms. LaBelle began singing in her inimitable style, "I can look at her and I can see what she's doing and hear all that great power ... It inspires me to sing better. Soul Man Sam Moore of the |60s rhythm and blues dynamic duo Sam and Dave pours it on with the late Conway Twitty in their version of Rainy Night In Georgia, made famous by Brook Benton. Twitty's performance with Moore was his last recording before his death last year.

Moore recalled when they went to the taping session, "I said to him |What do you want - laid back some or you want to just open up on it?' He looked up and he said, |Sam, give me the best you got." He did not hold back and he gave me the best Conway."

Other musical pairings are The Pointer Sisters and Clint Black on Chain of Fools, Natalie Cole and Reba McEntire on Since I Fell For You, Chet Atkins and Allen Toussaint on Southern Nights, the Staple Singers and Marty Stuart on The Weight and B.B. King and George Jones on Patches.

The musical mergers have been so well received, the stars will perform a live 90-minute, non-profit concert at MCA's Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. And if you still just can't get enough of these unforgettable unions in music, there's always MCA's Rhythm, Country & Blues compact discs and cassette tapes.