# alphabetizing - Gladys Knight And The Pips **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2009, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475 "2009-04-27T07:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/1 "2009-04-27T07:46:54Z")
I have my CDs set up so groups are put under their name. For instance, “H” for Hall & Oates. A single act goes under last name first, so it’s “Harrison, George” The word “the” goes last, so it’s “Monkees, The” But now I have this… If Gladys Knight was a solo act I’d put her under “K” for Knight, Gladys So should it be “G” or “K” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/2 "2009-04-27T07:52:32Z")
What are you doing with cds? Rip that shit and let itunes figure it out. Sell the remaining CDs while you can still get a few dollars for them. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/3 "2009-04-27T08:15:06Z")
I’d go with K. I used to alphabetize mine, but it was a pain in the ass sliding every cd down one slot when I got a new one. I tried geographically, by where the artist was from, but I ended up with several lop-sided stacks. So now I sort them by genre. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/4 "2009-04-27T08:23:37Z")
Oh well I’m ripping them all to my computer. I was referring to where to put them in my computer. I use EAC to rip them. When I use anything else iTunes, Windows Media, etc, it’ll just put everything by first word. So “The Supremes,” goes under “T” and I am doing it manually anyway, so I was just wondering. The CDs go into boxes, so I will have a hard back up. 🙂 I guess I’ll run into the same problem with “Tony Orlando and Dawn.” I won’t run into it with Diana Ross and the Supremes, 'cause to ME it’ll always be just “the Supremes” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/5 "2009-04-27T13:59:43Z")
What are ‘Ceee deee’s’? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/6 "2009-04-27T14:15:03Z")
Elvis Costello—with or without The Attractions—gets filed under C. The Alan Parsons Project goes under P. The Steve Miller Band goes under M. Paul McCartney and Wings is an annoyingly special case, because if I recall correctly, some of their albums were credited simply to “Wings,” so you have to check the M section and the W section at the record store. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/7 "2009-04-27T14:17:01Z")
Pips, Gladys Knight and the or Gladys ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/8 "2009-04-27T14:19:19Z")
In these days of mass information, the key is finding stuff amongst the morass. So file it under the name **you** will remember! ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/9 "2009-04-27T14:19:21Z")
You answered your own question: Gladys Knight & The Pips is a group, so in your system they go under “G.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/10 "2009-04-27T14:36:58Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > You answered your own question: Gladys Knight & The Pips is a group, so in your system they go under “G.” G for “group”? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/11 "2009-04-27T15:20:43Z")
If you have any CDs of Gladys Knight, without the Pips, it would be: Knight, Gladys. Followed by: Knight, Gladys and the Pips. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/12 "2009-04-27T15:27:27Z")
[b[Misnomer\*\* has the correct answer, but it’s obviously the case where a foolish consistency is to be avoided. If you put it under G you’ll never find it when looking. File it under K. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/13 "2009-04-27T15:40:57Z")
You could use Gary Larson’s method. File everything under “T”. The one with… ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/14 "2009-04-27T16:10:16Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I have my CDs set up so groups are put under their name. For instance, “H” for Hall & Oates. > > A single act goes under last name first, so it’s “Harrison, George” > > The word “the” goes last, so it’s “Monkees, The” > > But now I have this… > > If Gladys Knight was a solo act I’d put her under “K” for Knight, Gladys > > So should it be “G” or “K” > > 🙂 The key thing in my mind is that your “groups” example still uses last names. I think the most sensible thing is to use last names whenever available, hence “Gladys Knight and the Pips” goes under **K** , as **panache45** said. In cases like this (“Firstname Lastname and the Group”), determination has to be made as to which is the main name - that of the person or that of the group. I would say that in this instance, the Pips are essentially unknown except as backup for Gladys Knight and thus it goes under her name. Similarly, “Gary Lewis and the Playboys” go under **L**. In contrast, I would put “Eric Burdon and the Animals” under **A** , as the Animals had chart hits and were known as a group before most people had ever heard of Eric Burdon. Likewise “Diana Ross and the Supremes” go under **S** as you mentioned. It really gets fun with something like “Freddie and the Dreamers” or “Gerry and the Pacemakers.” Here, without a last name to work with, I would put them under **F** and **G** respectively, as the Dreamers and Pacemakers, like the Pips, really only mattered in the context of their lead singers. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/15 "2009-04-27T20:11:29Z")
I second that you go with whatever works for you. I tried sorting my song files by naming the Artist\_song title so I would have all the works of one artist together. But that means that different versions of one song are now scattered. And if I forget that the song I’m looking for wasn’t done by band X but by Revival Band Y, I have to do a search again. However, you could borrow a trick from the old card catalogue in libraries: file the CD in one place, and put a cardboard in same size in the other place to refer to the original place. So you will find it under G and under K and under P and … ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/16 "2009-04-27T20:16:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The Alan Parsons Project goes under P. > > The Steve Miller Band goes under M. \ In the library system, “and the” band names get sorted by the main performer’s last name. So Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is under P and Gladys Knight and the Pips would be under K. BUT! Bands that use the main performer’s name as the name of the band go under the full band name. So The Alan Parsons Project goes under A and The Dave Matthews Band goes under D. Then of course there are band names that have no corresponding member like Rilo Kiley, Pink Floyd or Harvey Danger that all go under the first letter of the “first name” of the band. Bands like P.J. Harvey that are technically a full band but perform under the name of the main performer go under the last name of the performer. \ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/17 "2009-04-27T20:27:41Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > What are you doing with cds? > > Rip that shit and let itunes figure it out. Sell the remaining CDs while you can still get a few dollars for them. Can you tell my Windows Media Player that Panic! at the Disco and Panic at the Disco are not two separate bands? (They took out the bang! before their latest album.) I even manually updated their name on one of their albums so both would be filed in the same place, but as soon as Windoze gets Internet service it so “helpfully” updates it again anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/18 "2009-04-27T20:57:27Z")
I’d say under ‘K’ for Knight, Gladys - if she were a guest with a band that recorded under its own name, it’d be a different thing. I have the same problem with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - those go under ‘B’, after much deliberation. fifty-six - I couldn’t disagree with you more. The CD database is so full of errors it needs to be completely replaced. I don’t think there’s a single thing on my computer where I haven’t had to take the time to correct their information and re-submit it. Still, it’s the only way it’s going to get fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/19 "2009-04-27T21:02:43Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I even manually updated their name on one of their albums so both would be filed in the same place, but as soon as Windoze gets Internet service it **so “helpfully” updates it again anyway.** Holy shit, that’s the kind of thing that would cause me to take the computer to the basement, smash it with a 2 pound hammer, sieve the remains and tile the bathroom floor with it!!! After all the hours I’ve spent trying to teach the CDDB that the ‘Artist’ for classical music should be the composer, not the performer, to have the computer ‘correct’ me would be an intolerable provocation. My congratulations on your restraint. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475/20 "2009-04-27T21:29:06Z")
Seems to me that simply omitting the word “the” from the start of artists’ names is a lot simpler than than all this worrying about individual surnames vs. band names. That’s how I name my mp3s - The Beatles becomes Beatles, David Bowie is filed under D, not B, and Gladys Knight and the Pips would be under G. (Fortunately, I don’t have any songs by The The.) You obviously wouldn’t want to use this rule to sort a big list of people’s names such as a telephone book, because there are too many people sharing first names. But for a typical mp3 collection, it works fine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alphabetizing-gladys-knight-and-the-pips/494475.md?page=2)