CoronaVinyl Day 296 (S): We Are Family by Sister Sledge

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I was busy on Friday, so I had to take a day off.  Many apologies.  Today's CoronaVinyl category is "S," and my selection is Sister Sledge's breakthrough third studio album, 1979's We Are Family.

As the name of the group implies, Sister Sledge was comprised of four sisters, Debbie, Joni, Kathie, and Kim Sledge.  They were from Philadelphia (and all four graduated from Temple), and they put out their first two albums in 1975 and 1977, respectively, but neither charted on the Billboard album chart, and only one song cracked the Billboard Hot 100 (but only reached #92).

In 1979, their record label decided to team them up with Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, and the result was We Are Family, an instant success.  Rodgers and Edwards -- who co-produced the album, wrote all eight songs on the album, and played guitar and bass, respectively, on the album -- brought a disco and funk edge.  It has a very Chic sound to it.  Several other members of Chic also played on the album or provided backing vocals, and a young Luther Vandross also provided backing vocals.  

The album would reach #3 on the Billboard album chart, #1 on the Billboard R&B album chart, #4 in Canada, and #7 in the UK.  Of course, the title track is the group's most well-known song, and it was a huge success internationally, going to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard R&B singles and Dance singles charts, #1 in Canada, and Top 10 in three other countries.  It was also adopted by the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates as their theme song, on their way to a World Series title.  But that wasn't the only hit on the album.  The disco classic "He's the Greatest Dancer" went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard R&B singles and Dance singles charts.  A third single, "Lost in Music," also wen to #1 on the Billboard Dance singles chart.

As disco died, the group's fortunes in the U.S. did as well.  They had one other Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, a cover of Mary Wells's "My Guy" in 1982 that reached #23.  However, they experienced a bit of success in the UK and Ireland in the mid '80s, most notably with 1985's "Frankie," which hit #1 on the pop charts in both countries.  That was around the time they stopped making music, until an album in 1997 and another in 2003.

The Spotify version of We Are Family has a couple bonus remixes of songs on the album.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Thinking of You"
This is probably the song on the first side that most straddles the line between disco and funk.  Rodgers's guitars are that classic disco/funk jangly sound.  This song was a surprise hit in the UK five years later, reaching #11 on the UK pop chart

Favorite song from Side 2:  "One More Time"
The album ends on kind of sultry note.  This is another of the funkier songs on the album, and Rodgers has a nice little solo.