Joni Sledge (September 13, 1956 – March 10, 2017) – Love Ain't Easy (1975)
This super funky rare B-side by Sister Sledge was co-written by Joni Sledge and Anthony DeCarolis and produced by Bert DeCoteaux and Tony Silvester.
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Singer/songwriter Joni Sledge was the second oldest of the four incredibly talented sisters who became superstars as Sister Sledge.
Born in Philadelphia, sisters Joni, Debbie, Kim, and Kathy Sledge were raised in a show business family. Their mother was an actor and their father worked as a Broadway tap dancer. They were trained to sing from an early age by their grandmother, a former opera singer. They initially called themselves Mrs. Williams’ Grandchildren, and performed at churches and political rallies around the city.
In 1971 they changed their name to Sister Sledge. At the time, Kim and Kathy were still in middle school, and Joni and Debbie in high school.
The group’s first hit was the superb jam “Love Don't You Go Through No Changes On Me” (1974), co-written by Gwen Guthrie.
Eventually, they shot to disco superstardom with producers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards on their 1979 album We Are Family, including the hits “He's The Greatest Dancer,” “Lost In Music,” and the iconic title track, which became their signature song. The LP peaked at #1 R&B and #3 on the Billboard 200 album charts.
Before the runaway success of We Are Family, they worked with other producers including the legendary Bert DeCoteaux, who produced the Main Ingredient, and Sylvester Levay, who wrote Silver Convention’s biggest hits like “Fly, Robin, Fly.”
Their super funky rare B-side “Love Ain't Easy” (1975) was co-written by Joni Sledge and Anthony DeCarolis. It was a non-LP single with “Love Has Found Me” on the A-side, released on Atlantic’s subsidiary ATCO Records.
Both tracks were arranged and conducted by DeCoteaux, who co-produced them with former Main Ingredient member Tony Silvester. They had also co-produced Sister Sledge's debut album Circle Of Love earlier that same year in 1975.
The single failed to chart, but a slightly extended version of “Love Ain't Easy” did (barely) make it onto the R&B charts at #100 when it was again released as a B-side in late 1976, paired with the Bobby Eli-written Philly disco cut “Cream Of The Crop.”
Joni co-wrote a few other songs for the group, including the superb “Make A Move” (1981) off their All American Girls LP, which was released as the B-side to the overlooked jam “If You Really Want Me,” co-written by Kathy and the album’s producer Narada Michael Walden.
In 1996, after witnessing a shooting in Los Angeles, Joni co-wrote and sang lead on the powerful message song “Brother, Brother Stop” which in a world where our airwaves weren’t controlled by corporate radio stations would have become a Stop The Violence anthem for the 90s and beyond.
Rest in Power Joni!
#funk #disco #soul #SisterSledge #BertDeCoteaux #TonySilvester #JoniSledge
Aaaah! I love Sister Sledge. They definitely need to be apart of the conversation more. Thanks so much about writing about Joni, your pieces never disappoint!