History
1965–1971: Formation and early years
In 1965, American siblings Debbie Sledge, Joni Sledge, Kim Sledge, and Kathy Sledge formed the female group The Sledge Sisters. Vocally trained by their grandmother and opera singer Viola Williams, the group began performing regularly at their family's church Williams Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal and soon began performing in local clubs and political events throughout their hometown of Philadelphia. [5] Over the early years of their career, they went through several name changes, becoming A Group Called Sledge, and The Brand New Generation. [5] In 1971, they debuted as Sisters Sledge, releasing their first single "Time Will Tell" on New York City-based record label Money Back Records. [6]
1972–1975: Atco Records
In 1972, the group began performing as Sister Sledge and signed with Atco Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. [7] In 1973, they released two singles, "The Weatherman" and "Mama Never Told Me", the latter of which peaked at number twenty on the UK singles chart. [8] In 1974, the group released another single titled "Love Don't Go Through No Changes On Me", which became a moderately successful song on the charts.
In 1975, Sister Sledge released their debut album Circle of Love . [9] The album peaked at number 56 on Billboard's Soul LP's chart. The album spawn the singles "Love Has Found Me", "Circle of Love (Caught in the Middle)", and "Pain Reliever"; the latter of which peaked at number 7 on the US National Disco chart. By the mid-1970s, Atco Records began focusing more on hard rock acts and some British and European bands. As a result, Sister Sledge changed label rosters to Cotillion Records, another subsidiary of Atlantic Records. [6]
1976–1988: Cotillion Records and commercial breakthrough
In 1976, the group released two singles "Thank You for Today" and "Cream of the Crop", both of which failed to make a huge impact on the charts. In August 1977, the group released their second album Together . The album was considered a commercial failure as the album did not chart. The album's lead single, "Blockbuster Boy", also failed to reach the top forty on the charts and only peaked at number 61 on the US Hot Soul Singles chart. To bolster the group's profile, Atlantic Records paired the group with Chic musicians and producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards to record a disco album as disco was rising in mainstream popularity. [9]
The group's third album, We Are Family , was released in January 1979 and peaked number three on the US Billboard 200, later achieving platinum status in the United States for selling over a million copies. [10] The album spawned the singles "He's the Greatest Dancer", "We Are Family", and "Lost in Music"; the former two both topped the US Hot Soul Singles chart and charted within the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. "We Are Family" was certified gold by the RIAA, [10] and received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1980 Grammy Awards. [11] During the group's Destiny World Tour with The Jacksons in mid-1979, Debbie Sledge went on maternity leave and was replaced by her elder sister Carol Sledge. [12] In 1980, they released their follow-up fourth album, Love Somebody Today , which was also produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Four singles were issued from the album: the lead single "Got to Love Somebody", followed by "Reach Your Peak", "Let's Go on Vacation", and "Easy Street"; the first two peaked within the top thirty on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles.
The group started shifting away from disco music as the genre began to decline in popularity. They began working with American musician Narada Michael Walden and songwriter Allee Willis on the recording on their next album. In February 1981, they released their fifth album All American Girls . The lead single and title-track, "All American Girls", followed the album's release and peaked at number 3 on the US Hot Soul Singles chart. "He's Just a Runaway", the second single from the album, spent peaked at number 6 on the US Dance chart. Having written or produced songs earlier songs in their career, the group began to take a more active role in the production of their next album. Released in January 1982, their sixth album The Sisters spawned a cover version of Mary Wells' song "My Guy". The song peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, their highest-charting song since "We Are Family" in 1979. After the release of their album Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls in 1983, the group's popularity began to fade as the album's singles "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Baby)" and "Gotta Get Back to Love" achieve minor success. In May 1984, the group experienced a resurgence of popularity in the United Kingdom when Cotillion Records re-issued their single "Thinking of You", which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles chart. [8] In September 1984, a remix of their song "Lost in Music" was released and peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles chart. [8] "Thinking of You" and "Lost in Music" earned a gold certifications by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom. [13] [14]
By 1985, Cotillion Records began closing down and as a result, Sister Sledge was moved to their parent label Atlantic Records. When the Boys Meet the Girls , the group's seventh studio album, was released on June 7, 1985, by Atlantic Records. The album became an instant success and earned a silver certification within a month of its release by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom. [15] Much of the album's success was fueled by the lead single "Frankie" which peaked atop of the UK Singles chart and held the top position for four weeks. [8] The song also earned a gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom. [16] In late 1987, Atlantic Records released a compilation album titled Freak Out: The Greatest Hits of Chic and Sister Sledge , which included successful hit songs by Sister Sledge and American disco group Chic. [8] Following the release of the album, Sister Sledge left Atlantic Records in 1988.
1989–2012: Lineup changes
In 1989, lead singer Kathy Sledge departed from the group to pursue her solo career, leaving Sister Sledge to continue on as a trio. [17] She signed to Epic Records and released her debut solo album Heart in 1992. In the same year, the remaining members of Sister Sledge recorded a compilation album titled And Now...Sledge...Again, which featured newly recorded songs as well as re-recorded versions of their earlier songs. In 1993, Kathy Sledge returned to the group for a European Tour after a remix of "We Are Family" by British group Sure Is Pure began charting in the United Kingdom, eventually peaking at number 5 on the UK Singles chart. [8] Although Joni was not part of the European tour, she re-joined the group in 1994. In April 1996, they joined Chic for concert performance at Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The performance was recorded and released as a concert film titled Live at the Budokan . Sister Sledge returned to the studio later that year to record another album. Joni Sledge took on a more active role in the album's production, writing most of the songs on the album. Their ninth album African Eyes, a jazz-fusion album, was released in February 1998 on independent label Fahrenheit Records. [18]
In early 2000, Kim departed from the group to focus on becoming an ordained minister. [19] In December 2000, all four members performed at the White House for the President and First Lady at the final Christmas party of the Clinton administration. In the aftermath of September 11 attacks, Sister Sledge re-recorded "We Are Family" alongside other popular singers and musicians at the request of Tommy Boy Records president Tom Silverman. [20] They also appeared in the accompanied documentary The Making and Meaning of We Are Family. [20] In November 2001, they performed at the Denim and Diamonds Gala at Planet Hollywood benefiting the G&P Foundation for Cancer Research. [21] In 2002, Kim released her debut album Peaceful on independent record label Malaju Records. [22] [23] In February 2003, the original members performed "We Are Family" during the halftime of the game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on in New York City. The group released an album titled Style in 2003; which featured all of the original members, although the album only received a limited-edition release. In mid-2003, Debbie and Joni began touring as the lineup of Sister Sledge, often adding Debbie's daughter Camille Young (credited as Camille Sledge) as the third member in place of Kim.
In May 2006, Debbie's second daughter Amber Young (credited as Amber Sledge) joined the touring lineup. By 2008, a lineup of Joni Sledge, Amber Sledge, and family friend Chele' Davis (replacing Debbie) began touring as Sister Sledge, with Debbie Sledge periodically performing in the lineup. In October 2010, Kim contracted the H1N1 virus. [24] Four month later while being treated for the virus, she contracted pneumonia and was admitted to intensive care unit in February 2011. [25] In April 2011, Kim and Kathy rejoined the group for a televised performance of "We Are Family" on The Oprah Winfrey Show . [26] In February 2012, Sister Sledge filed suit in federal court against Warner Music Group, alleging they have been cheated out of millions of dollars based on improper calculations of revenue from digital music sales. [27] In the summer of 2012, American singer Tanya Ti-et was added to the group, often standing in for either Joni or Kim Sledge. With Kim rejoining in 2015, all three sisters performed at a large-scale charity benefit in London for Save the Children and were invited to perform for Pope Francis at the World Festival of Families in Philadelphia at Eakins Oval on September 26, 2015. [28] On March 10, 2017, Joni Sledge died of natural causes at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 60. [29] Following Joni's death, Debbie and Kim announced that they will continue to perform as Sister Sledge. [30] Following Joni's death, Tanya Ti-et rejoined the group as a touring member.
In July 2018, Kim Sledge announced that she was developing a feature film titled Life Song, which would chronicle the career and stardom of Sister Sledge. [31] In 2019, Kim Sledge departed from the group again and was replaced by Camille Sledge.
2020–present: Spinoff groups
Following Kim's departure from the group, Debbie Sledge began rebranding the group as Sister Sledge featuring Sledgendary; a group composed of her and various members of the Sledge family. In 2021, Kathy Sledge began performing as Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge, which included Kim Sledge. [17]
