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Still lovin' it

Kathy Sledge keeps the family name alive

by GERARD DEE

Fresh from her first trip to Moscow, Kathy Sledge, part of the family quartet Sister Sledge, tells how impressed she was with the Russian audience. "I thought there would be a bigger language barrier than there was, and there wasn't," she says. "That's when you really feel how much music is a universal language. I mean, they knew all the lyrics to most of the songs, and they sang along and they got up on stage and they danced. It was uplifting."

Sledge and her three sisters Debbie, Joan and Kim uplifted the whole world back in 1979 with their universal anthem "We Are Family." The track became the theme song for the World Series-winning Pittsburgh Pirates, and is still a favourite old-school jam. Safe to say, Sledge had no idea what the song would become when she first heard it.

"You know, when I think of ‘We Are Family‚' I think of me, after we got the rough version of it - we had recorded it that day in the studio. I remember taking it to the hotel and playing it back and dancing to it in the mirror and saying, ‘I wonder if this song's gonna fly, because I like this song.'"

So did the rest of the world. The sisters had had modest prior success on the R&B charts with songs like "Love, Don't You Go Through No Changes On Me" and "Blockbuster Boy," but when they teamed with famed producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, their careers took off. Rodgers and Edwards were flying high on the success of their own group Chic, who were on the same label as the Sledge sisters.

"[Rodgers and Edwards] had had a string of hits and they were asked by our record company to choose a group [to work with], and they chose us off of this list. They thought we would be an interesting group to produce.

"To this day, Nile always pays me a great compliment musically. I have a friend who asked him once, what's the magic in ‘We Are Family,' and he said, ‘You know, when Bernard and I wrote that song, it was just a simple little melody.' And he said it was me that put the magic in that song. I think there was magic just in the song itself. The lyrics were literally written about us after they met us. I think that's why it worked."

Joy to the world

The Sledge Sisters scored with other hits during their career - "He's the Greatest Dancer," "All American Girls" and "Frankie," which was a number-one hit in the U.K., were three of the biggest - but the message of "We Are Family" loomed large.

"The challenge of it is that we are really family, and like any family we will butt heads. We finally made the decision that we wanted to branch out and do our own things. It's one reason why you don't see us performing as much together. It's not to say that we're fighting all the time, but we have our differences and it's a challenge to be a family group and stand for that song. It's a lot to live up to."

Currently, Sledge is busy writing material for a forthcoming solo album, which she hopes will be out by spring of next year. When asked her if singing, touring and writing are still fun after all these years, she comes back to her recent trip.

"When we were in Moscow, we collaborated with some musicians from Ireland. After the show, we're sitting in this hotel lobby, and there was a grand piano, so we just started jamming and singing all these Christmas carols. Then some people came in from France, and then some folks were in from the United States and we were calling it the United Nations Christmas.

"We sang until 3 in the morning and we finished with ‘Let It Be.' We all held hands, it was such a moment. Those are things that you'll never forget. That's what keeps me going. I enjoy it, I love it and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Sister Sledge and live band join DJ Majess and MC Larry Day at the Ultimate Old School Party Sixth Anniversary Affair at Club La Boom on Sunday, Dec. 26, 10 p.m., 25 and older, semi-formal attire, $30