1965–1971: Formation and early years In 1965, Philadelphia siblings
Debbie Sledge (born 1954),
Joni Sledge (1956–2017),
Kim Sledge (born 1957), and
Kathy Sledge (born 1959) formed the female group the Sledge Sisters. Vocally trained by their grandmother and opera singer Viola Williams, and managed by their mother Florez "Flo" Sledge, 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. Over the early years of their career, they went through several name changes, becoming A Group Called Sledge, and the Brand New Generation.
1972–1975: Atco Records In 1972, the group began performing as Sister Sledge and signed with
Atco Records, a subsidiary of
Atlantic Records. In 1973, they released two singles, "The Weatherman" and "Mama Never Told Me", the latter of which peaked at number 20 on the
UK singles chart. 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. 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. 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 10 on the
Billboard Hot 100. "We Are Family" was certified Gold by the RIAA, During the group's
Destiny World Tour with
The Jacksons in mid-1979, Debbie Sledge went on maternity leave and was replaced again by her elder sister Carol Sledge. 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 single hit number 7 on the
Billboard R&B chart. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In early 2000, Kim departed from the group to focus on becoming an ordained minister. 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. They also appeared in the accompanied documentary
The Making and Meaning of We Are Family. In 2002, Kim released her debut album
Peaceful on independent record label Malaju Records. In February 2003, the original lineup 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 younger daughter Camille Young (credited as Camille Sledge) as the third member in place of Kim. In May 2006, Debbie's eldest 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 August 2009, a lineup of Kathy Sledge, her daughter Kristen Gabrielle, Amber Sledge, and Su Wingate performed as Sister Sledge at the first annual
Rewind Festival in
Henley-on-Thames. In October 2010, Kim contracted the
H1N1 virus. Four months later while being treated for the virus, she contracted
pneumonia and was admitted to intensive care unit in February 2011. In April 2011, Kim and Kathy rejoined the group for a televised performance of "We Are Family" on
The Oprah Winfrey Show. Kim continued to perform with Sister Sledge from late 2011 until early 2012, opting to continue with her evangelism during the time in which she created the Paradise Project, a separate gospel and ministry tour consisting of her, her children, and several special guest. 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. The lawsuit was settled out of court with Sister Sledge receiving a substantial payout. 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, Sister Sledge (Debbie, Joni, and Kim) began touring internationally and eventually performed at a large-scale charity benefit in London for
Save the Children. They were invited to perform for
Pope Francis at the World Festival of Families in Philadelphia at
Eakins Oval on September 26, 2015. According to a representative of Kathy Sledge, Kathy had requested to join the group the event but the other members refused to allow her to participate in the performance. although the album never materialized. On March 10, 2017, Joni Sledge died of natural causes at her home in
Phoenix, Arizona, at age 60. Following Joni's death, Debbie and Kim announced that they will continue to perform as Sister Sledge, and Tanya Ti-et who throughout 2016 had been performing in place of Joni would continue with 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. In 2019, Kim Sledge departed from the group again and was replaced by Camille Sledge.
2019–present: Spinoff groups Kim joined Kathy's lineup of Sister Sledge, which had previously consisted of Kathy's daughter Kristen Gabrielle, and friend Su Wingate whom had been touring as Sister Sledge as early as 2005. For the late duration of 2019, Kathy and Kim toured together and billed themselves as Sister Sledge, adding their daughters Kristen and Julie to the lineup. By 2021, Debbie Sledge had rebranded her lineup as
Sister Sledge featuring Sledgendary; a group consisting of her, two of her children Camille Sledge (born Camille Young) and David Sledge (David Young), Joni Sledge's son Thaddeus Sledge (born Thaddeus Whyte IV), and Tanya Ti-et. In the same year, Kathy Sledge began performing as
Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge, which included her and rotating background singers and dancers. ==Artistry==