Sister Sledge

Sister Sledge is a female vocal group from Philadelphia, United States. The group forms in 1971 and performs in boogie, dance-pop, disco, funk, pop soul and soul.

Line-up and background

The original group consists of four sisters: Debbie Sledge, Joni Sledge, Kim Sledge and Kathy Sledge. They are born and raised in Philadelphia and begin singing in local churches including Williams Temple CME and Second Macedonia Baptist Church. They are granddaughters of the former opera singer Viola Williams.

Kathy Sledge leaves the group in 1989 to pursue a solo career, while the sisters continue to perform collectively and individually. The original four members reunite in 2011 on an episode of Oprah Winfrey's Women Who Rock.

Career and recordings

Their professional career begins when they enter the UK singles chart in 1975 with "Mama Never Told Me". They release their first two albums, Circle of Love and Together, in 1975 and 1977. They also score the Silver Prize at the 1975 Tokyo Musical for Gwen Guthrie's "Pain Reliever" and for "Love Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me".

They achieve their biggest commercial success with We Are Family in 1979. The album is written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. It becomes their best-selling release and includes "He's the Greatest Dancer" and the title track "We Are Family", their biggest hit. Other significant singles include "Lost in Music", "Love Somebody Today", "Got to Love Somebody", "Pretty Baby", "All-American Girls", "Next Time You'll Know" and "Frankie". "Frankie" reaches number one in the UK in 1985.

Later work and collaborations

In 1980 they release Love Somebody Today. In 1981, working with producer Narada Michael Walden, they release All-American Girls, which yields the title track and "Next Time You'll Know".

Joni Sledge records African Eyes with Debbie and Kim Sledge in 1998. The album receives a Grammy nomination for best produced CD. The group also releases the live album Live in Concert in 1997. In 2003, Debbie and Joni Sledge perform with three other female singers, including Debbie's daughters Amber and Camille, in the PBS special My Music: 70's Soul Superstars.

Legacy

The group has songs re-released and re-recorded several times in Europe, often in remixed versions. "Il Macquillage Lady", written by Joni Sledge, is believed to have been sampled for Daft Punk's 2001 track "Aerodynamic", though Daft Punk deny sampling it.