The Three Queens held court at Baltimore's CFG Bank Arena
By Bridget Arnwine
In the early days of R&B music, talent was the stuff that stars were born of. An artist’s skills were often honed in African American churches and at the feet of praying grandmothers; the artists themselves began entertaining as soon as they were old enough to stand before a crowd. In the early days of R&B music, the genre’s biggest stars were young people who sang because it was something they were good at and because performing gave them room to exist in the fullness of their gifts despite the harsh realities of racism and inequality that plagued their communities and American society as a whole at the time. R&B and soul artists embodied excellence and a full capacity for singing and performing that couldn’t be taught. They were just that good, and the music of the time offered the perfect reflection. Today, those same performers are now the genre’s royalty. However, the spirit of recent bias means there are limits on acknowledgment and celebration from the media and academies while these legends continue to be, create, and grow the music. Several of those queens recently decided to take matters into their own hands and host their own celebration, and thank goodness they did.
In recent years, R&B has become overrun with artists who want to take up space in the music community without knowing its history or valuing the innovations of those who breathed life into it. Their negligence has left the music a shell of its once vibrant, soul-stirring, heart-breaking, fun-filled, and rhythmic self. Could these queens revitalize the music by coming together? Only time would tell.
Last night Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills, and Chaka Khan, three pioneers of R&B and soul music, performed at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena for their Three Queens tour, and it was nothing short of magical (Patti Labelle is the show’s fourth queen, but she was unavailable for the Baltimore tour stop). The show opened with the legendary Gladys Knight performing a medley of songs that spans her six decades in the music industry. Some of those songs included “If I Were Your Woman,” “Love Overboard,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “Midnight Train to Georgia,” gospel superstar Donnie McClurkin’s hit song “Stand,” and “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye).” At eighty years of age, vocally, she’s still a peak performer and crowd favorite. The heartiness in her sound and crispness of her tone was classic Gladys Knight. It was as beautiful and powerful as ever and unmarred by time, even if the slowness in her step revealed a different truth. Gladys Knight will always represent what’s good about soul music.
As soon as Ms. Knight finished her last song, the stage turned 180 degrees, revealing the band for the night’s next performer, the incomparable Ms. Stephanie Mills. While Ms. Mills’ band and background vocalists warmed up the stage in anticipation of her arrival, there was one noticeable addition to the crew: Mills’ biggest fan, her son Farad. He did his best to keep up with the music and the mean two-step the background vocalists were doing to hype the crowd, but it was clear that Farad was there for one reason and one reason only: to introduce the crowd to his Suga! When Ms. Mills stepped on stage, she looked flawless from head to toe. Her strapless blue sequined dress and curly red hair looked perfect against her skin, and then she opened her mouth and made everything even better! Launching right into her biggest hits including “I Feel Good All Over,” “You’re Putting a Rush On Me,” “Something in the Way You Make Me Feel,” “What Cha Gonna Do With My Loving,” “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love,” and the song that made her an international star, “Home,” a song that she performed as Dorothy in the Broadway version of The Wiz back in 1974 when she was just sixteen years old, Mills commanded the stage with a youthful exuberance and sophisticated sultriness that only a seasoned performer could manage. Just as Ms. Knight had done before her, Mills delivered vocals that were unmistakably hers and showed no signs of lack. Another crowd favorite, fans stood and sang along for most of her performance, but her performance of “Home,” which she offered as a touching tribute to friends who have passed on, including the King of Pop Michael Jackson, garnered the biggest response.
After a brief set change, the lights dimmed, and the screen onstage flashed with messages from some of the biggest names in music and pop culture, such as Joni Mitchell, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and the late great Prince, who all spoke to Chaka Khan’s greatness and influence. The seventy-two-year-old Khan flashed her megawatt smile as she emerged behind a group of svelte dancers wearing a sequined high-low top, a lacy, sequined catsuit, and thigh-high boots. Khan kicked off her performance with her high energy, cross-over single “I Feel for You” (a remake of a song originally written and performed by Prince), followed by some of her other big hits that spanned her decades long career including “Tell Me Something Good,” “What Cha Gonna Do For Me,” “Sweet Thang,” “Through the Fire,” “I’m Every Woman,” and “Ain’t Nobody.” She added vocal flairs, scatting, and dramatic re-tempos to her songs to showcase her artistry while maintaining that classic, full-throated Chaka Khan sound. Khan was the only one of the three queens who included dancers in her performance, but she didn’t need them (they were talented, so no offense). Hers was a nostalgic and spirited performance that capped off a fantastic evening of music.
A music with no foundation is sure to fall, but that’s only if artists rooted in its customs and practices stand by the wayside. What Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills, and Chaka Khan brought to the CFG Bank Arena and stadiums around the country has been nothing short of a master class in excellence, tradition, and the music itself. It’s a demonstration of showmanship and God’s favor, and everyone knows that favor ain’t fair. The Three Queens put on a beautiful show last night. It felt familiar. It felt soulful. It felt like home.
The next stop on the Queens Tour is tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
