The 77-year-old music icon expressed: “The bravest thing I’ve ever done was early in my career when I was traveling on the road with the Pips, we stopped at a gas station and the man behind the counter refused to fill our car, even though we’d paid upfront because I was black.
“I was very outspoken in those days and started to argue with him, and he pulled a gun on me.
“I hate to think what might have happened if my friends hadn’t pulled me away.”
“As well as helping to launch my singing career, she shaped my character and taught me that we are all God’s children, no matter what color we are.”
Gladys is very grateful for how her life has turned out with her current husband William.
She said: “If I had half an hour left on earth, I’d look up to heaven and thank the Lord for the many great blessings he has given me – the blessing of song, of course, but most of all my amazing husband .