Sister Sledge

Sister Sledge was an American female group composed of members of the Sledge family. The group was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1965, and originally consisted of sisters Debbie Sledge, Joni Sledge, Kim Sledge, and Kathy Sledge. They were managed by their mother Florez Sledge. Their music crosses genres of R&B, disco, pop, rock, soul, Philly soul, and gospel. Sister Sledge first performed in talent shows and clubs in Philadelphia and eventually signed with Money Back Records. In 1972, they left Money Back Records and signed with Atlantic Records subsidiary label Atco Records, where they released two Top 10 dance songs "Love Don't You Go Through No Changes on Me" (1974) and "Pain Reliever" (1975). The group were moved to another subsidiary label Cotillion Records in 1976. They released six studio albums between 1977 and 1983, including the successful albums We Are Family (1979) and Love Somebody Today (1980) and singles "He's the Greatest Dancer" (1979), "We Are Family" (1979), "Lost in Music" (1979), "All American Girls" (1981), and "My Guy" (1982). In mid-1980s, they experienced a resurgence in mainstream popularity after the release of their single "Thinking of You" and a remix of their earlier single "Lost in Music" peaked in the Top 20 of the United Kingdom. In 1985, their single "Frankie" topped the UK Singles chart for four consecutive weeks and became the fifth highest-selling single in the United Kingdom for that year. In 1989, lead singer Kathy Sledge left the group and pursued a successful solo career. The three remaining members released the poorly received And Now...Sledge...Again compilation album in 1992, which featured several re-recordings of their earlier hit songs. In 1993, Kathy rejoined with the group for a European Tour after several dance remixes of their singles "We Are Family", "Lost in Music", and "Thinking of You" began charting in the UK Top 20. From 2000 to 2003, the four original members reunited on special occasions, among them was for the We Are Family Foundation. Following this, Sister Sledge went through different incarnations of the group composed of several family members and friends began performing in the group. After Joni's death in 2017 and Kim's exit in 2019, different factions of Sister Sledge surfaced. By 2021, Kathy Sledge began performing as Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge, and Debbie Sledge began performing as Sister Sledge featuring Sledgendary. Sister Sledge have sold over 20 million records worldwide, making them one of the highest-selling female groups of the 1970s. In 2017, they were inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame. Their song "We Are Family" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry.