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Sister Sledge
"We Are Family"
(Edwards, Rodgers)
Produced & by
Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers
Atlantic Records
1978
MASTERPIECE
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Biography:
SISTER SLEDGE |
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Best known for their
work with Chic in the late '70s, siblings Debbie, Kim, Joni,
and Kathy Sledge — collectively Sister Sledge — reached the
height of their popularity during the disco era but had been
recording since the early '70s and were still active in the
late '90s. The group was formed in Philadelphia in 1971, when
the sisters' ages ranged from 12 to 16, and they recorded
their first single, "Time Will Tell," for the Philly-based
Money Back label. (For the first few years, the group called
itself Sisters Sledge.) In 1972, Sister Sledge signed with
Atco and recorded its second single, "Weatherman," which was
followed by the Jackson
 5-like
"Mama Never Told Me" in 1973.
Sister Sledge's first
national hit came in 1974, when "Love, Don't You Go Through No
Changes on Me" reached number 31 on the R&B charts and the
Philadelphians recorded their debut album, Circle of Love.
Their second album, Together, was released in 1977 and
contained the number 61 R&B hit "Blockbuster Boy." It wasn't
until 1979, when Chic leaders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards
produced We Are Family, that Sister Sledge really
exploded commercially. "He's the Greatest Dancer" and We
Are Family's title song both soared to number one on the
R&B charts, and the latter (a number two pop smash) was
adopted as a theme by the World Series-winning Pittsburgh
Pirates.
Sister Sledge's next
album, Love Somebody Today (1980), was also produced by
the Rodgers/Edwards team, and the single "Got to Love
Somebody" became a number six R&B hit. In 1981, Sister Sledge
switched producers and worked with Narada Michael Walden, who
produced 1981's excellent All American Girls. The title
song was a number three R&B hit, and in 1982, Sister Sledge
had a number 14 R&B hit with a cover of Mary Wells' "My Guy"
that appeared on The Sisters. But after that, the
foursome's popularity faded, and it never had another Top 20
hit in the U.S. — although 1985's "Frankie" (a number 32 R&B
hit in the States) became a pop number one hit in England.
Sister Sledge left Atlantic for good in 1985, but its members
kept busy in the 1990s. Epic released Kathy's debut solo
album, Heart, in 1992, and 1997 found the sisters
recording a risk-taking date, African Eyes, arguably
one of the finest albums they ever recorded.
RECORD REVIEW - "HE'S
THE GREATEST DANCER" - "WE ARE FAMILY"
 Before
1979's We Are Family, Sister Sledge wasn't a huge name in the
R&B/disco world. The group had enjoyed a small following and scored
a few minor hits, including "Love, Don't You Go Through No Changes
on Me" in 1974 and "Blockbuster Boy" in 1977. But it wasn't until
We Are Family that the Philadelphia siblings finally exploded
commercially, and the people they have to thank for their commercial
success are Chic leaders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The
Rodgers/Edwards team handles all of the writing, producing, and
arranging on this album; so not surprisingly, almost everything on
We Are Family is very Chic-sounding. That is true of the sexy
"He's the Greatest Dancer" and the anthemic, uplifting title song
(both of which soared to #1 on the R&B charts), as well as excellent
album tracks like the lush "Easier to Love," the perky "One More
Time," and the addictive "Thinking of You." The least Chic-sounding
tune on the album is the ballad "Somebody Loves Me," which favors a
classic sweet soul approach and is the type of song one would have
expected from Thom Bell, Gamble & Huff, or Holland-Dozier-Holland
rather than Rodgers/Edwards. Meanwhile, the intoxicating "Lost in
Music" (a #35 R&B hit) is about as Chic-sounding as it gets. When
Rhino reissued We Are Family on CD in 1995, it added four
bonus tracks, all of which are remixes of either the title song or
"Lost in Music." These remixes are intriguing; it's interesting to
hear late '70s classics turned into high-tech 1990s dance-pop. But
they are less than essential, and the original versions are by far
the best — how can you improve on perfection? Both creatively and
commercially, We Are Family is Sister Sledge's crowning
achievement.
Sister Sledge's biggest hit had been the 1974
number 31 R&B/number 92 pop single "Love Don't Go Through No Changes
on Me." Almost five years later, their other releases had languished
in the lower half of the R&B charts. The group decided that if they
didn't have a breakthrough hit in 1979, they would throw in the
towel and return to private life. After having scored massive hits
with the million-selling single "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah,
Yowsah)" and the platinum-plus single "Le Freak," Chic founders Nile
Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were offered any act on the Atlantic
Records roster to produce. Passing up the Rolling Stones, Yes, and
others, the duo chose Sister Sledge so that there would be no doubt
that the record's success would be due to their skills and not the
act's "star power." Rodgers thought that lead singer Kathy Sledge's
vocals were akin to those of Aretha Franklin. Sessions for Sister
Sledge's We Are Family album were recorded at the same time
as those for Chic's C'est Chic LP at New York's Power
Station. Originally meant for Chic, "He's the Greatest Dancer" went
to number one R&B and number nine pop in the spring of 1979.
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