Disco legends Sister Sledge featuring Sledgendary make a welcome return to Love Supreme Festival in a few weeks and we were able to speak with founding member Debbie Sledge, and Sledgendary, comprised of her children Camille and Dave, and Thaddeus, the son of the late Joni Sledge, following their recent UK shows.

Hi, how are you? Where are you?
Debbie: We are good thanks and we’re still in the UK.

I understand the weather caused problems at a beach festival in Weston-Super-Mare. I’m sure the crowd still got behind you.
Camille: The rain doesn’t bother us.
Thaddeus: We love the rain!

Where are you based in the US?
Camille: Arizona
That explains why you like the rain!

Philadelphia must have been such a musical city in the early 1970s. Were you aware of it being an important time with the songs of Gamble & Huff and Thom Bell/Linda Creed and artists such as Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, MFSB, etc and how did this influence you?
Debbie: For me, there’s a humour in our music and I think it comes from living in Philly. Being in survival mode you have to laugh to keep from crying and there’s a lot of humour in Philly and people take their fun very seriously, so you hear it in their music but also the musicianship is just awesome. We had a chance to work with some of the Philly groups on a (disco/soul music) cruise and Gamble & Huff and other artists, Frankie Beverly, all of these great groups, we got to hear them perform again and it was so much fun.

And you worked with Gwen Guthrie early on in your career.
Debbie: Yes, she was a great songwriter and we were very honoured that we got to sing some of her songs.

Can I ask the others, who are your musical heroes and influences?
Thaddeus: I do love Stevie Wonder. My mom told me when I was very young,”If you wanna learn how to sing, study Stevie: you’ll learn breath control, you’ll learn tonality, pitch: all the building blocks to singing basically.” So she got me his Greatest Hits and Songs In The Key Of Life and I used to play those all the time.

Camille: For me, I would say Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and it was an honour to share a stage with her, and of course I’m a huge Sister Sledge fan because my mom was probably one of the best mentors I could have, especially for harmonies, vocal arrangements and being really strong women in general, just in life.

Dave: I’m a dancer so I’m going to have to go with Michael Jackson. From the beginning I started singing and dancing, he was my favourite.

Camille: And Patti Labelle.

Dave: Yes and mom.

What would you say the essence of the Sister Sledge sound is?
Camile: I think you can hear a little bit of that Philly Sound in there and, for me, in the sense that it’s so much fun it’s humorous to a degree, you hear the joy in each person’s voice and of course you get the New York sound that came from Chic, which is awesome.

Debbie: Also, I think it’s some powerful vocals, really strong messages, the vocal arrangements and great harmonies, and I think there’s a huge influence of God and faith in all of the work.

Thaddeus: Definitely the signature bass lines and rhythm guitar from Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Debbie, can you tell us about your two jazz albums with Niels Lan Doky?
Debbie: I feel so very privileged and honoured to be able to work with Niels, he’s an amazing jazz pianist who’s recognised all over the world. The wonderful thing about working with him is there are no limits to what you can do. So he’ll take any song and turn it into something awesome, jazzwise, and I get to be creative with him which is so much fun.

Is there going to be a third album?
Debbie: We are working on it, we have written some songs together. Actually, Camille also worked with Niels, and so did Thaddeus.

Camille: Yeah Dave, where you at? (laughs)

Debbie: We’ve all enjoyed working with Niels. Also our own music is coming together into a compilation album soon and then we’ll put it out kind of like a mixtape.

On the Live At The Standard album the jazz version of ‘We Are Family’ works so well
Debbie/Camille: Oh thank you.

So do you think there may be a whole jazz album of Sister Sledge classics?
Debbie: You know, that’s why I said about Niels having no limits, there’s no song that is off-limits.

And was it important to you to record these live in front of a live audience?
Debbie: At the time the album was done, it was when I happened to be doing a run of shows at The Standard Jazz Club in Copenhagen and the shows were going so great and we were having so much fun, we decided to set up a recording during the live performances.

We also, as a follow up to that, recorded another album ‘Sledge Sings Simone’ which we only put out online and that recording took place at The National Museum of Denmark.

Obviously those were all Nina Simone songs but are there any other artists from that period who stand out for you and you might like to record their songs?
Debbie: Well I always enjoyed the classic jazz artists like Shirley Horn, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan. These are songs that really caught my ear. Also Nancy Wilson and actually my mom brought me up on Little Jimmy Scott. My mom actually pulled me aside because she was such a jazz fan and she had me listening very closely. She’d say “listen to that, listen to that timing, you see what they’re doing, they’re telling a story” and that really got me into it. And each artist is so unique, they’re not copying each other, it’s the whole uniqueness in jazz that the person who is singing is telling their story no matter what song it is. It’s what their emotion is and what the words mean to them. So you’re getting the real heart of the artist and also the heart of the songwriter. That’s what I love about jazz, there are no limits.

Is there still a film about the group planned?
Debbie: Yes, Kim was writing a script (Life Song) and she still might be but I don’t know much about it, although she’s a great writer, Joni was too, all my sisters are exceptional – I’m still learning.

Finally, do you think there will be a full reunion with your sisters Kathy and Kim?
Debbie: I’m just going to say yes.

And is there going to be a third generation of Sledge singers?
Camille: Yes, that’s happening already. My daughter is singing and playing bass and she’s in a rock band right now and my son is a drummer – all the kids play instruments and have all been through the School of HipHop. They’ve been around music all their lives.

So there’s every chance that Sister Sledge will still be around in another fifty years?
Camille: Yes, it’s a legendary legacy!

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today and have a great show at Love Supreme.
All: Thank you, take care.

Sister Sledge play the Love Supreme Festival on Sunday 5th July.
For tickets and full information go to https://lovesupremefestival.com/.