Happy birthday to Debbie Sledge of the popular sibling act, Sister Sledge, born on July 9, 1954.
The ’60s was arguably the golden decade for girl groups – think The Supremes, The Marvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Ronettes, The Chiffons, The Shangri-Las, The Velvelettes and on and on… The 70s? Well, there are some names that stand out – The Honeycone, First Choice, The Pointer Sisters, Labelle (transformed from Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles), The Emotions…and Sister Sledge. The four real-life sisters from Philadelphia earned their place in contemporary music history thanks to a pair of timeless mega hits, “He’s The Greatest Dancer” and the now-classic anthem “We Are Family,” revived in the fall of 2001 by an all-star collection of artists as a fundraiser in the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy. But while the late 70s mainstream popularity of dance music definitely helped Debbie, Joni, Kathy and Kim to finally receive their due as chartmakers, Sister Sledge were more than just a one-off group caught up in the heady days of disco…