Sister Sledge
Debra (b. 1955), Joan (1957), Kim (1958) and Kathie Sledge (1959) were all born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. They started their recording career in 1971 and spent a short time working as backing singers before enjoying a series of minor R&B hits between 1974 and 1977. Two years later they entered a fruitful relationship with Chic masterminds Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards which resulted in several sparkling singles including He's The Greatest Dancer, We Are Family and Lost In Music, each of which reached the the UK Top 20 in 1979. The Sisters then left the Chic organization and began to produce their own material in 1981. Although success in the USA waned, the quartet retained their UK popularity and two remixes of former hits served as a prelude to Frankie, a simple but irrepressible song which reached number 1 in 1985. Since then however, Sister Sledge have been unable to maintain this status.