Sister Sledge: “We are family and always will be”

Under the vocal direction of founding member Debbie Sledge, the genius of Musical Director Dominic Amato, along with an ensemble of talented musicians, the group has achieved a legendary place in the entertainment industry. Specialising in bringing the party with the family’s classic hits, Debbie Sledge, daughter Camille Sledge, Tanya Tiet, Thaddeus Sledge and David Sledge make one funky family affair.
And this week, the Bulletin spoke to Debbie and daughter Camille just after they landed in London for the start of a European and UK tour.

“Our secret? Well we don’t really have one. Growing up in Philadelphia and surrounded by so many great musicians, my grandmother Viola was an opera singer, who trained us, my mother sung as did my uncle, my aunt, the whole family so I guess it was just part of a life, a very important part of life because we would always sing, and still do in church. It was the most amazing family environment to have grown up in and it’s rubbed off on our children which is truly beautiful, a blessing from God and now my daughter is part the group and its future,” Debbie said.

And does Camille want to see a third generation in the band? “Yes indeed, we are family, so yeah, I would love to see a third generation Sister Sledge,” she said. “To be honest, there was no initial plan to create a family band, it just happened. It was God’s planning if anything, plus my mother was a very savvy businesswoman,” Debbie said.

“And once we got going, it just snowballed. Our desire, our destiny if you like, was to simply produce and perform great music and the songs have proved to be timeless. We’re all about joy, bringing joy, happiness, love and fun, that’s what we aim to transcend through our music and especially on stage. You have to enjoy what you are doing and we certainly do, it’s embedded in all of us,” Debbie said. “Nothing is greater than love."

“And, we’ve got some great memories such as performing at the White House for the Clintons, during the Rumble in the Jungle, for Pope Francis in our home city and on the famous pyramid stage at Glastonbury, for example, and we have many more to come. Another very special moment for us was in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the four sisters re-recorded “We Are Family” as a benefit record with a host of other artists, including Diana Ross and Patti LaBelle. It was important for us and the world and it was wonderful to have been involved with helping the United States and the world at large heal. It was a source of unity for so many families,” Debbie said.

“And that sense of joy, happiness, laughter and unity is what we’re going to be bringing to Mallorca. We want to see everyone out of their seats, sharing the love. Don’t be shy, have fun, we want everyone to go home with a love for life because I think we take it for granted too often. Sometimes it’s hard to keep that hope and joy, so we do our best to keep that hope and joy alive,” added Camille.

“Plus there will be some surprises on stage. Obviously we’ll be performing our greatest hits, but we’re always playing with the set list, we’ve got so many tracks to choose from, sometimes we’ll leave it to the last minute. No concert is ever the same so for those coming, brace yourselves for something unique and very special,” Debbie said. “And we feel so blessed as a band and a family. It was God’s plan to take us on this journey and it’s so much fun, it’s contagious and that’s why we are family and always will be. And church is still very important in our lives and we always go to sing whenever we can because if anything is certain in life, it is that God will never change but another beautiful source of inspiration is seeing the younger generations in the audience. It’s lovely to see because everyone needs to experience and celebrate live music.

"“We love and listen to all types of music, world music. Sometimes in the States it is difficult to get access to international music, you have to go looking for it, but thankfully through all of our touring we’ve come into contact with so many different artists, styles and genres, we love Spanish music for example, you’ve just to got to search for it. There’s no good or bad music, it’s all very different and everyone has their tastes,” mother and daughter said.

“And Philadelphia has always been a huge source of great music right across the spectrum. Apart from being a beautiful city with the docks, it’s a tough city, it’s a working city which is why much of the music is from the heart, about life, inspired by experiences and challenges. It’s always been so rich in talent which I guess has helped us over the years and will continue to as we produce more new music, there’s plenty more to come from the Sledge family I can promise you,” said Debbie. “And it’s so exciting.”

The group is responsible for some of the biggest dance anthems of all time. Lost in Music, He’s the Greatest Dancer and Thinking of You are universally cherished songs that bring people together in love, life and soulful groove. The group have amassed a string of Gold and Platinum hits and GRAMMY nominations so don’t miss the chance to see them live in Mallorca.