By Mark Voger/The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger

Whenever Gladys Knight watches a certain clip of Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," she experiences a bit of a time warp.

"I started singing when I was 4 years old," recalled Knight, 67, who sang on more than 20 Top 20 hits with her one-time vocal group the Pips, including "Every Beat of My Heart" and "Midnight Train to Georgia."

"I remember I was visiting my uncle in Detroit one time. He owned a bar. I think I was about 8 or 9. There was a jukebox in the bar. During the daytime, of course, the bar was empty. My brother Bubba and I were allowed to come in and help my aunt prepare the food for the evening. So we got a chance to play the jukebox, okay?
"During that time, (singer) Big Maybelle was very popular. One day, my uncle heard us singing Big Maybelle's 'Candy' when we were helping my aunt. He asked me to come over that night, because he wanted his friends and his patrons in the bar to hear me sing 'Candy.' So he stood me up on a chair and put that song on, and I sang 'Candy,' " Knight added with a laugh.

"Every time I see the 'Cosby' show — when she (Rashad) did 'Candy' — it reminds me, personally, of that time that I had that same experience."

Knight is scheduled to perform Nov. 9 in Newark, in a concert benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey. Knight's little performance in her uncle's bar wasn't her first, she recalled during a 2008 conversation.