Guest
While writing “We Are Family“, Nile Rodgers remembered a guitar riff from an obscure song from Children Of God called “Do What You Wanna Do“ and incorporated it into the song. Nile and 'Nard had just left a meeting with Sister Sledge for “We Are Family“ and had come up with a great title, but were stuck, unable to finish the song until the guitar riff was added. They both realized it was the missing element and completed the song. Once they entered the studio, they played the music track for Kathy, who was fed each line one at at time to allow her to spontaneously fit the lyrics into the song. It was recorded in one continuous take except for Kathy's ad libs and the party atmosphere tracks which push the song into overdrive near the end. While “He's The Greatest Dancer“ was at its most popular, “We Are Family“ was released and it began to shoot up the pop and R&B charts in the summer of 1979. The song was an instant classic and became an anthem for feminism, gay rights, family reunions and inspired the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series champions to glory. One person who worked with the sisters was the ever wonderful Luther Vandross who contributed background vocals to “He's The Greatest Dancer“ and “We Are Family“. Kathy remembers the frustration Vandross felt working on another artists career defining hits. He was also their label mate on Cotillion and never had a hit of this magnitude during his tenure there. She says now she understands his situation because she had been there too working on someone elses song and seeing it hit big. “We Are Family“ was their last great hit, but the enduring qualities of the song still resonate today. Kathy notes that when she goes to different schools to promote Career Day, that even first graders know about the song. She feels that it is being passed down through the generations and will never be forgotten. I agree with her, and that is why I do the remix thing here, I hope you will enjoy this new extended version from the original master tracks.
