We Are Family (album)

We Are Family is the third studio album by the American R&B vocal group Sister Sledge, released on January 22, 1979 in the United States and on April 30, 1979 in the United Kingdom by Cotillion Records. The album was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the band Chic, and includes four hit singles: the title track, "He's the Greatest Dancer", "Lost in Music", and "Thinking of You", all of which have been sampled, remixed, and reissued in the decades after the album's release.

We Are Family
Studio album by
Sister Sledge
ReleasedJanuary 22, 1979
RecordedAugust–November 1978
StudioThe Power Station
(New York City, New York)
Genre
Length43:56
LabelCotillion Records
ProducerNile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards
Sister Sledge chronology
Together
(1977)		 We Are Family
(1979)		 Love Somebody Today
(1980)
Singles from We Are Family
  1. "He's the Greatest Dancer"
    Released: February 3, 1979
  2. "We Are Family"
    Released: April 4, 1979
  3. "Lost in Music"
    Released: April 1979[1]
  4. "Thinking of You"
    Released: June 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[3]
Pitchfork8.6/10[4]
Smash Hits7/10[5]

Background

Chic worked with Sister Sledge, who had signed to Atlantic in 1973, at the inspiration of Atlantic president Jerry L. Greenberg. Nile Rodgers remembered later; " That's why we came up with We Are Family. [–] Everything he said about them gave us a picture of them. You've got to remember, we never even met them. [-] All of the content on that record came from that one day with the president [–] I was fascinated and enthralled by the concept of people who loved music who could be in the midst of the whole disco era."[6]

We Are Family is one of two albums produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in 1979, the other being Chic's third album Risqué including hit singles "Good Times" and "My Forbidden Lover". Nile Rodgers has written that of the various albums produced by The Chic Organization for themselves and others, "pound for pound, I think We Are Family is our best album hands down."[7]

The lead vocals to "We Are Family" were recorded in a single take by the then 19–year-old Kathy Sledge.[8] "He's the Greatest Dancer" was the first single from the album and became the group's first major hit, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart. We Are Family was digitally remastered and reissued on CD by Rhino Records in 1995.

Track listing

All songs written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers.

  1. "He's the Greatest Dancer" – 6:16
  2. "Lost in Music" – 4:52
  3. "Somebody Loves Me" – 4:59
  4. "Thinking of You" – 4:31
  5. "We Are Family" – 8:24
  6. "Easier to Love" – 5:05
  7. "You're a Friend to Me" – 5:31
  8. "One More Time" – 3:17

Re–mastered CD bonus tracks

The re–mastered CD was released in 1995.

  1. "We Are Family" (Sure Is Pure Remix) – 8:05
  2. "We Are Family" (Steve Anderson DMC Remix) – 8:13
  3. "Lost in Music" (Sure Is Pure Remix) – 8:38
  4. "Lost in Music" (1984 Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers Remix) – 6:37

Personnel
  • Kathy Sledge – lead vocals (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 5)
  • Debbie Sledge – lead vocals (on "You're a Friend to Me")
  • Joni Sledge – lead vocals (on "Lost in Music", "Easier to Love")
  • Kim Sledge – lead vocals (on "One More Time")
  • Nile Rodgers – guitar
  • Bernard Edwards – bass
  • Tony Thompson – drums
  • Robert Sabino – piano, Hohner clavinet
  • Raymond Jones – keyboards, Fender Rhodes electric piano
  • Andy Schwartz – piano
  • Sammy Figueroa – percussion
  • Jon Faddis – trumpet
  • Ellen Seeling – trumpet
  • Barry Rogers – trombone
  • Jean Fineberg – saxophone
  • Alex Foster – saxophone, flute
  • Gene Orloff – concert master
  • Cheryl Hong – strings
  • Marianne Carroll – strings
  • Karen Milne – strings
  • Luther Vandross – backing vocals
  • Norma Jean Wright – backing vocals
  • David Lasley – backing vocals
  • Alfa Anderson – backing vocals
  • Diva Gray – backing vocals
  • Simon LeBon – additional vocals on "lost in music" (1984 mix)
  • Andy Taylor – additional vocals on "lost in music" (1984 mix)
  • Bob Defrin – art direction
  • Jim Houghton – photography

Charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 3
US Billboard Top Soul Albums[9] 1
UK Albums Chart[10] 7

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[9]
US US
R&B		 US
Dance		 UK Singles Chart[11]
1979 "He's the Greatest Dancer" 9 1 1 6
"We Are Family" 2 1 8
"Lost in Music" — 35 17

See also

References
  1. The Book of Hit Singles: Top 20 Charts from 1954 to the Present Day
  2. Henderson, Alex. Sister Sledge - We Are Family (1979) album review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
  3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. Beta, Andy (December 12, 2018). "Chic / Sister Sledge: The Chic Organization 1977–1979". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  5. Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (May 3–16, 1979): 25.
  6. Turn The Beat Around, Peter Shapiro, p.163
  7. Nile Rodgers (2011). Le Freak. Little, Brown & Company, London. ISBN 978-1-84744-314-4.
  8. Turn The Beat Around, Peter Shapiro, p.165
  9. "Sister Sledge US chart history". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  10. Official Albums Chart Top 100 at Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com
  11. Official Singles Chart Top 100 at Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com
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