We Are Family (1979)

We Are Family is the third album by the American vocal group Sister Sledge. It was released on January 22, 1979, by Cotillion Records. Following their 1977 album Together, Sister Sledge enlisted a new array of collaborators, including Chic musicians and producers Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers who shifted the group away from their Philly soul roots, emphasizing disco and R&B music instead.

We Are Family is widely considered Sister Sledge's breakthrough album. It debuted at number 142 on the US Billboard 200, and later peaked at number 3. The album went on to become certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over a million units in the US. Four singles were produced—"He's the Greatest Dancer", "We Are Family", "Lost in Music", and "Thinking of You". "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family" became Sister Sledge's first two top-ten US Billboard Hot 100 songs as well as their first two US Hot Soul Singles and US National Disco Action chart toppers.

According to music magazine Billboard, We Are Family was the fourth best-selling album of 1979, making Sister Sledge the sixth most successful music act of 1979. The song "We Are Family" earned a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards (1980).

Background

After the minor success of their previous album Together (1977), the group grew disappointed about lack of breakthrough success. According to Joni Sledge, the group has contemplated leaving the music industry and pursuing other careers. During this time, Kim Sledge had already enrolled in law school. Atlantic Records decided that Sister Sledge should record a disco album to reflect the genre's mainstream popularity. To bolster the group's profile, Atlantic Records paired the group with Chic musicians and producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards who had just achieved success with their albums Chic (1977) and C'est Chic (1978); the latter of which spawned the number-one hit "Le Freak".

Recording and production

The recording of the album took place over a four-month period. Sister Sledge recorded the album at Power Station, a recording studio in New York City frequently used by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers for recording albums. Edwards and Rodgers wrote and produced the entire album. During the record sessions, Sister Sledge member Debbie Sledge and Bernard Edwards often disagreed on harmonies, sometimes resulting in one or both them leaving out of the studio with Nile Rodgers mediating the disagreement. When Edwards and Rodgers produced "Lost in Music", Debbie Sledge felt the song was too repetitive.

Much of what Edwards and Rodgers wrote and produced was kept secret from Sister Sledge, only showing the lyrics to the group once they were in front of the studio microphones as Rodgers wanted "spontaneity" in the music. The song "We Are Family" was written by Edwards and Rodgers for Sister Sledge after working with them. In an interview with UK national radio station Smooth Radio, Kathy Sledge recalled "[Atlantic Records president] Jerry started describing my sisters and myself [to Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers]: 'You gotta meet these girls, they're family. They flock together like birds of a feather.'" The song "We Are Family" was recorded in one take.

Release and promotion

We Are Family was released on January 22, 1979, by Cotillion Records. On April 30, 1979, it was released in the United Kingdom. To promote We Are Family, Sister Sledge appeared on various television and award shows throughout 1979. Sister Sledge performed the album's singles "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family" on American Bandstand in March 1979. In May 1979, they appeared on Dutch television program TopPop to perform "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family". Also in the same month, they performed "He's the Greatest Dancer" on The Merv Griffin Show. They returned in June 1979 to perform "We Are Family" for TROS Top 50. In August 1979, they performed "We Are Family" on The Merv Griffin Show.

In September 1979, Sister Sledge performed "Thinking of You" on The Merv Griffin Show. Later that month, they returned to the Netherlands to perform "Lost in Music" on TopPop. In 1980, they performed "We Are Family" on new Italian pop music show Popcorn.

In 1995, We Are Family was digitally remastered and reissued on CD by Rhino Records. The remastered edition featured two remixed versions of "Lost in Music" and "We Are Family"; both of which had been previously released outside of the United States as remixed singles in 1984 and 1993, respectively.