Sister Sledge -- Bold Soul Sisters

Joni, Kim, Kathie, Debbie, Kathie - 1981

The way millions of young girls look up to artists like TLC today is the same way me and my friends viewed Sister Sledge back in the day--1980 to be exact. To us, Kathie, Joni, Kim, and Debbie had it all: they were really pretty, seemed really nice, and you could dance to their music. My dad introduced me to the group (the "Sledge Sisters" as he called them) when "We Are Family" was out, and it wasn't long before I bought my own copy of All American Girls from Sears a couple years later. Of course, all us preschool girls had our favorite Sister. Mine was Debbie--she just looked so cool and different from the other three.

Well now as an adult, I can appreciate Sister Sledge's talent and other virtues besides being pretty and having fun music to dance to. It's true that their biggest hits were achieved with the help of Chic members and super-producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. But take away all of the outside production, and you will still find in this group four sisters that could sing the newspaper classified ads and make it sound good.

Sister Sledge has always always known how to sing, way before their big hits, since they were children in the choir at Philadelphia's Second Macedonia's Church. They performed under monickers like Mrs. Williams' Grandchildren, A Group Called Sledge, Brand New Generation. When a concert emcee accidentally introduced them as Sister Sledge instead of the Sledge Sisters, the name we all know stuck.

Kim, Debbie, Kathie, Joni - 1975

Big sis Carol got her younger siblings their first recording deal by way of a friend who just happened to be in the Stylistics. The girls' first single, "Time Will Tell," was released in 1971 on Money Back records. They were soon signed to Atlantic records and kept busy with session work, like on Percy Sledge's (no relation) "Sunshine," and appearances that included a spot at the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman boxing match in Africa. None of their early singles made much of an impact in the US, probably due to the fact that the girls were paired with too many mixmatched producers (including Euro-Disco's Michael Kunze). They were hitless and were considering throwing in the towel. And then came Nile and 'Nard.

Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers were having their own success as producers and musicians in Chic, best known for hits like "Le Freak" and "Good Times." Atlantic rewarded them by offering them the opportunity to produce any label-mate they chose. They chose the virtually unknown Sister Sledge. And when the first single they produced from 1979's We Are Family was released, the girls were unknown no more -- "He's the Greatest Dancer" (a song originally written for Chic to use) shot to #1 on the R&B charts and #9 on the pop list. However, club and radio DJ's had their own agenda and began playing the massive dancefloor burner "We Are Family." At first Atlantic company heads did not even like the song. What do they know? "We Are Family" soon rose to #1 R&B and #2 pop and became a chosen anthem for the Pittsburgh Pirates (who won the World Series that year) and, of course, for families everywhere.

"We Are Family" was recorded in one take and was propelled by the gorgeously husky and scratchy vocals of the youngest sister of the Sisters, Kathy. She was not even 21 when she sang the infamous funky ad-lib at the end of the song. The song is a true classic and it will be played, I'm sure, for the rest of eternity.

From We Are Family, 1979

Sister Sledge kept recording albums after that, even though they were, unfortunately, one of the direct targets of the Anti-Disco movement. Each of the albums featured all of the girls singing lead, so we could hear all their talents. Well, we all know about fabulous Kathy. But there was also Joni, who had a unique deep and smoky voice. And Debbie with her smooth, sultry sound. And Kim with her strong, passionate vocals. Those voices kept having hits throughout the early 80s and remained popular. Everyone loved them. And you know you loved seeing them tear the roof off the sucker when they appeared on The Jeffersons in 1982.

The group is still around too, but this time only as a trio. Kathy left for a solo career in 1989. You'll see them touring in the US and overseas. I, for one, can't wait to see them in concert. I'll be the one in the back yelling, "Debbie, you rock!"

Unless otherwise noted, all written material copyright 1999, Melissa A. Weber.
No part of these pages may be reproduced on another site without my prior written consent.

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