Sister Sledge
Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers who produced the We Are Family album for Sister Sledge originally formulated all its songs with the group in mind envisioning the title cut as the lead single. When Atlantic Records wanted a more overtly disco song Edwards and Rodgers gave Sister Sledge "He's the Greatest Dancer" originally intended for Chic.
Nile Rodgers recalled Sister Sledge being "furious" at being asked to sing the lyric "My crème de la crème please take me home" - "to them that made them seem like loose women" - and suggested a lyric adjustment to "My crème de la crème, please don't go home." Rodgers says he and Edwards refused to change the lyric "because we knew the world that we were writing about obviously more than did because they had never even been in a disco...He ain't going to go home because the greatest dancer...he's gonna stay there longer than you".
Nile Rodgers later described his and Edwards' approach with Sister Sledge as one of "sing this", and admitted to "misrepresenting" them because Rodgers and Edwards hadn't met Sister Sledge before the sessions.
"He's the Greatest Dancer" was released as the lead single from We Are Family at the end of 1978 crossing over from the clubs - its 12" version was shared by the "We Are Family" and "Lost in Music" tracks" - to R&B radio giving Sister Sledge a number one hit on both Billboard's Dance and R&B charts in March 1979. "He's the Greatest Dancer" reached number nine on the Hot 100 in May; it might have risen higher but that same month Atlantic Records prompted by the overwhelming club response to "We Are Family" sent the last-named track to radio.
"He's the Greatest Dancer" was also a hit in Australia (#5), the Netherlands (#1) and the UK (#6).
| Preceded by "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" by Instant Funk |
Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single March 31, 1979 |
Succeeded by "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" by Instant Funk |
| Preceded by "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" by Instant Funk |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (with "We Are Family" and "Lost in Music") March 24, 1979 - March 31, 1979 |
Succeeded by "Dancer" / "Dance to Dance" by Gino Soccio |
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Famous quotes containing the word sister:
“Sisters define their rivalry in terms of competition for the gold cup of parental love. It is never perceived as a cup which runneth over, rather a finite vessel from which the more one sister drinks, the less is left for the others.”
—Elizabeth Fishel (20th century)