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| Sister Sledge | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, soul, disco |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Website | [http://www.sistersledge.com/ |
| Members | |
| Kim Sledge Debbie Sledge Joni Sledge Kathy Sledge |
|
Sister Sledge is an American musical group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 1972 and consisting of four sisters: Kim Sledge (born August 21, 1957) Debbie Sledge (born July 9, 1954), Joni Sledge (born September 13, 1955), and Kathy Sledge (born January 6, 1959). They are granddaughters of the former opera singer Viola Williams. The sisters used to perform under the name of "Mrs. Williams' Grandchildren."
Contents |
[edit] Chart history
The members of Sister Sledge were born and raised in Philadelphia and began singing at the young ages of four through eight in local Philadelphia churches like Williams Temple CME and Second Macedonia Baptist Church. Their professional music career launched when they entered the UK Singles Chart in 1975 with "Mama Never Told Me." The young girl band (often compared to "The Jackson Five") released their first two albums "Circle Of Love" and "Together" in 1975 and 1977, solidifying international success. The group became a "household name" under the production skills of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. This association gave them their biggest successes during 1979: the popular anthem "We Are Family" (#1 R&B, #2 Pop in the U.S.) and "He's the Greatest Dancer" (#1 R&B, #9 Pop in the U.S.) Both songs were included on their eight song 1979 album We Are Family. Their next album was 1980's "Love Somebody Today," which included the songs "Got to Love Somebody" (#6 R&B, #64 Pop in the U.S., #34 in the UK) and "Pretty Baby."
Collaborating with producer Narada Michael Walden in 1981, they released the album "All-American Girls," yielding two hits (the title track, which reached #3 R&B and #79 Pop in the U.S. and #41 Pop in the UK, and "Next Time You'll Know," which reached #28 R&B in the U.S.) The sisters continued singing new material throughout the 1980s and 1990s. They achieved an international #1 selling song with "Frankie" in 1985 (#1 in the UK for 4 weeks). In 1992, Kathy, lead singer, recorded her first solo album "Heart," which spawned the #1 Billboard Dance hit "Take Me Back To Love." Her sisters recorded the album "African Eyes" in 1998, as well as the "Live in Concert"" album in 1997. In 2004 they headlined the International Food and Wine Festival at the Epcot theme park. In 2003, Debbi and Joni performed with two other girls in the PBS special, "My Music: 70's Soul Superstars," which is also available on DVD.
Their most popular songs have been re-released several times in the UK, often in newly-remixed versions, keeping their sound timeless and up-to-date. "We Are Family" is regarded as one of the most popular songs of all time. An updated version of "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Will Smith sampled was included in the backing music in his #1 USA/Top 3 UK hit "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" and Dannii Minogue covered the sisters recording 2007, making it an international top 40 hit. Sister Sledge was voted by VH1 as one of the most successful girl groups of all time, second only to the Supremes. We Are Family was voted the No.2 biggest record of all time, and subsequently inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The sisters continue to perform collectively and individually as soloist with guest vocalist. The original group members were reunited in 2011 on Oprah Winfrey's "Women Who Rock" episode, highlighting their "We are Family" as one of the most requested songs of all time.
The video for "Frankie" was made in its entirety in the city of Glen Cove, NY, the hometown of its producer, Suzy Benfato. Location sites included the high school, a local disco and many downtown spots, as well as her neighbor's pool.
Their song "Il Macquillage Lady" was sampled by Daft Punk for their 2001 hit single Aerodynamic.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions[1] | US certifications[2] |
Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
UK[3] | |||||
| 1975 | Circle of Love | — | 56 | — | — | Atco | |
| 1977 | Together | — | — | — | — | Cotillion | |
| 1979 | We Are Family | 3 | 1 | 7 | Platinum | ||
| 1980 | Love Somebody Today | 31 | 7 | — | — | ||
| 1981 | All American Girls | 42 | 13 | — | — | ||
| 1982 | The Sisters | 69 | 17 | — | — | ||
| 1983 | Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls | 169 | 35 | — | — | ||
| 1985 | When the Boys Meet the Girls | — | 52 | 19 | — | Atlantic | |
| 1997 | African Eyes | — | — | — | — | Fahrenheit | |
| 2003 | Style | — | — | — | — | Empowerment | |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified | |||||||
[edit] Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
UK[3] | |||||
| 1987 | Freak Out: The Greatest Hits of Chic and Sister Sledge | — | — | 72 | WEA Int'l | ||
| 1992 | The Best of Sister Sledge (1973-1985) | — | — | — | Rhino | ||
| 1993 | The Very Best of Sister Sledge (1973-1993) | — | — | 19 | |||
| 1999 | The Very Best of Chic & Sister Sledge | — | — | — | WEA Int'l | ||
| 2002 | The Essentials | — | — | — | Rhino | ||
| 2005 | Good Times: The Very Best of the Hits & the Remixes (with Chic) | — | — | — | WEA Int'l | ||
| 2006 | The Definitive Groove Collection | — | — | — | Rhino | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||||
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US Dance |
US A/C |
UK[3] | |||
| 1971 | "Time Will Tell" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1973 | "The Weatherman" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Mama Never Told Me" | — | — | — | — | 20 | ||
| 1974 | "Love Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me" | 92 | 31 | 5 | — | — | |
| 1975 | "Protect Our Love" | — | — | 7 | — | — | |
| "Circle of Love (Caught in the Middle)" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Love Has Found Me" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "Thank You for Today | — | 78 | — | — | — | |
| 1977 | "Cream of the Crop" | — | 100 | — | — | — | |
| "Blockbuster Boy" | — | 61 | — | — | — | ||
| "Baby, It's the Rain" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978 | "I've Seen Better Days" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1979 | "He's the Greatest Dancer" | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | 6 | |
| "We Are Family" | 2 | 1 | 30 | 8 | |||
| "Lost in Music" | — | 35 | — | 17 | |||
| "Got to Love Somebody" | 64 | 6 | 34 | — | 34 | ||
| 1980 | "Reach Your Peak | 101 | 21 | — | — | ||
| "Let's Go on Vacation" | — | 63 | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "All American Girls" | 79 | 3 | 6 | — | 41 | |
| "Next Time You'll Know" | 82 | 28 | — | — | — | ||
| "He's Just a Runaway" | — | 32 | — | — | — | ||
| 1982 | "My Guy" | 23 | 14 | — | 2 | — | |
| "All the Man That I Need" (feat. David Simmons) | — | 45 | — | — | — | ||
| 1983 | "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Baby)" | — | 22 | — | — | — | |
| "Gotta Get Back to Love" | — | 56 | — | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "Thinking of You" | — | — | — | — | 11 | |
| "Lost in Music" ('84 remix) | — | — | — | — | 4 | ||
| "We Are Family" ('84 remix) | — | — | — | — | 33 | ||
| 1985 | "Frankie" | 75 | 32 | — | 15 | 1 | |
| "Dancing on the Jagged Edge" | — | 71 | — | — | 50 | ||
| 1986 | "When the Boys Meet the Girls" | — | — | — | — | 89 | |
| "Here to Stay" (from the Playing for Keeps Soundtrack) | — | — | — | — | 78 | ||
| 1993 | "We Are Family" ('93 remix) | — | — | — | — | 5 | |
| "Lost in Music" ('93 remix) | — | — | — | — | 14 | ||
| "Thinking of You" ('93 remix) | — | — | — | — | 17 | ||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | |||||||
[edit] Cover versions of Sister Sledge songs
- "All the Man That I Need" was originally done by Linda Clifford in 1981 and was covered by Whitney Houston in 1991, becoming her ninth number-one hit.
- "Mama Never Told Me" was covered by Tracie & The Questions in 1983. The recording was released on a compilation album entitled "Love The Reason" by Paul Weller's Respond label.
- "Thinking of You" was a UK hit single for Maureen Walsh in 1990; it was also covered by 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor in 1997, Monday Michiru in 1999, Paul Weller in 2004, and Sin Palomo in 2005. It was also sampled by Eclipse in 1999 on the dance hit "Makes Me Love You"
- "Lost In Music" was covered by The Fall in 1993 on the album The Infotainment Scan.
- "We Are Family" was covered by Babes in Toyland in 1995, the Spice Girls in 1998, Jump5 in 2003, and Jordan Pruitt in 2007.
- "Lost in Music" was covered by Wackside sampling Sister Sledge in 2002.
- "He's The Greatest Dancer" was covered by Dannii Minogue in 2006, and sampled by Will Smith on "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" in 1998 and Tony Touch on "I Wonder Why" in 2000.
- "We Are Family" was covered by Groovestylerz in 2007.
- "We Are Family" was covered by Home Made Kazoku in 2007.
- "Thinking of You" was remixed by Solitaire in 2004. Samples of the same music were used in Eclipse's dance hit "Makes Me Love You" in 1999.
- "Lifetime Lover" was sampled by The Vanden Plas in 2003 for their single "Lifetime Lovers".
- "Thinking of You was covered by the Swedish music collective Blacknuss.
- "B.Y.O.B." was covered by Angela Clemmons in 1987.
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
[edit] References
- ^ "Sister Sledge US albums chart history". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5442. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ "Sister Sledge US certification history". riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=%22Sister%20Sledge%22&format=Album&go=Search&perPage=25. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ a b c "Sister Sledge UK chart history". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=2574. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ "Sister Sledge US singles chart history". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5442. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Kathy Sledge official website
- Kim Sledge official website
- Sister Sledge at Allmusic
