Sister Sledge

Few family acts have carried their history as lightly as Sister Sledge, whose Philadelphia roots gave them a sound that moved easily between R&B, disco, pop, rock and Philly soul. The group began in 1965 as four sisters, Debbie, Joni, Kim and Kathy Sledge, singing in church and local clubs before a few name changes and a first single, 'Time Will Tell', on the New York-based Money Back Records.

The breakthrough came with Cotillion, where a pairing with Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produced We Are Family in 1979, an album that reached number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and earned a platinum certification. Its title track and 'He's the Greatest Dancer' both topped the US Hot Soul Singles chart, and the group's mid-1980s revival carried 'Frankie' to the top of the UK singles chart for four weeks in 1985. Kathy left in 1989 and later rejoined, while Joni died in 2017, leaving the name split between factions. The group's catalogue is credited with sales of over 20 million records worldwide.