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. The album reached number one on the Top R&B Albums chart and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making it the band's most commercially successful album. In 2013, NME named it among the 500 greatest albums of all time.

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."

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". Edwards and Rodgers would only show the songs to Sister Sledge once the sisters were in front of the studio microphones. 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."

The lead vocals to "We Are Family" were recorded in a single take by the then 19-year-old Kathy Sledge. "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.

Critical reception
The New York Times wrote that Edwards and Rodgers "have distilled disco down to its seductive essentials... The result is a spare, spacious elegance."

Track listing
All songs written by Bernard Edwards and 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 and Nile Rodgers Remix) – 6:37

Personnel
with:
 * Sister Sledge
 * 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" and "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 – concertmaster
 * 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 Le Bon – additional vocals on "Lost in Music" (1984 mix)
 * Andy Taylor – additional vocals on "Lost in Music" (1984 mix)
 * Technical
 * Bob Defrin – art direction
 * Jim Houghton – photography