The Ritchie Family are an American

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

that achieved several

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

during the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

era. They have reunited and continue to perform. Their latest single "Whatcha Got" was released in 2021.

Background

The three original members were not related; the group was a creation of

Jacques Morali Jacques Morali (4 July 1947 – 15 November 1991) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for collaborating with Henri Belolo to create acts such as the Ritchie Family and Village People. Early life ...

who also formed the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...

. The group took its name from record producer

Richie Rome Richie Rome (born Richard V. Di Cicco; January 16, 1930 – December 15, 2020) was an American record producer, arranger and orchestra conductor, primarily known for work during the 1970s. Early life and career Rome was born in Philadelphia, Pen ...

, who added a T to the name; it originally consisted of three singers: Cassandra Ann Wooten and Gwendolyn Oliver (who eventually married musician

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

) of the girl group Honey & the Bees, and Cheryl Mason Jacks. Their manager was Jimmy Bishop, a successful Philadelphia radio personality who also managed

Barbara Mason Barbara Mason (born August 9, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American soul singer with several R&B and pop hits in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her self-written 1965 hit song " Yes, I'm Ready". She has released ...

. Morali remembered Wooten and Oliver had done some session work for him, and he called them a few years later when he wanted to form a group and the Ritchie Family was born. Following ''

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

'', they had success with the ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'' album. Their follow up albums ''

Life Is Music ''Life Is Music'' is the third studio album recorded by American female vocal trio The Ritchie Family, released in 1977 on the Marlin label. History The album features the title track, which peaked at No. 8 on the Hot Dance/Disco chart along w ...

'', which followed a 1930s theme, and ''

African Queens ''African Queens'' is the fourth studio album recorded by American female vocal trio the Ritchie Family, released in 1977 on the Marlin label. History The album features the track, " Quiet Village", which peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Disco ...

'' were only mediocre successes. Each of these four albums was a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

featuring songs of a similar theme as suggested by each album title. Each album also featured a long medley, usually running from 15 to 20 minutes.

Career: Original line up

''Brazil''

Their first hit single, a reworking of the 1930s song "

" reached the Top 20 in the United States in 1975. It would also later be nominated for the Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1976 Grammy awards but was beaten by " The Hustle" by

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his c ...

. The album, also titled ''

'', sold well. By November 1, 1975, it had been on the Billboard Album Chart for five weeks and had moved up from #72 to #62. Between then and December 6 the album did reach #52. By then it had moved down from the previous week's position of #60 to #102. The album did give them another dance hit with "

The Peanut Vendor "El manisero", known in English as "The Peanut Vendor", is a Cuban son (music), son-pregón (street vendor's cry) composed by Moisés Simons. The song has been recorded more than 200 times,Listed in Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal 1988. ''Si te quieres por ...

". This first album featured vocals by session singers, Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Evette Benton. There was no actual group called The Ritchie Family at this stage.

''Arabian Nights''

Cassandra Wooten and Nadine Felder from Honey & the Bees had done some background vocal work for

a couple of years prior and he contacted them as he wanted them to perform live as the Ritchie Family. Not wanting to do secular music anymore, Felder wasn't interested. Wooten and Cheryl Mason-Jacks had been doing some work together in a community theater group. With Wooten's former Honey & the Bee's bandmate, Gwendolyn Oliver they were looking to do background vocal music and started practicing for a few weeks until Wooten got a call back from Morali. So then in 1975, they went down to

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was an American independent recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Sigma Sound is closely associated with Philade ...

to audition. Singing a few bars of ''Brazil'' they got the job and became the face of The Ritchie Family. In 1976, they began recording the next album which was ''

'' album. The single from the album was "

The Best Disco in Town "The Best Disco in Town" is a 1976 crossover (music), crossover disco single by Philadelphia-based group, The Ritchie Family. In the United States, the single was a top 20 hit on both the soul and pop charts. "The Best Disco in Town" went to numb ...

". The song was a

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

of recent disco songs linked together with an original

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

got to #17 on the Pop charts and #1 on the Dance charts and it became a worldwide hit. Described in the book ''Saturday Night Forever: The Story of Disco'' by Alan Jones and Jussi Kantonen as magnificent from start to finish, ''Arabian Knights'' has a travelogue type of theme to it. It begins at Istanbul and then goes to the "Lawrence of Arabia" theme and then to the finish at a Persian Market. It had a Hollywood feel with lively percussion, disco glamour and uncharacteristic male voices helping with the vocal chanting.

''Life Is Music''

Phil Hurtt Phil Hurtt (born April 12, 1942) is a musician, singer, songwriter and arranger who has written hits for The Detroit Spinners, The Ritchie Family and many others. His compositions have been recorded by many artists and he has worked as an arran ...

who had co-produced Honey & the Bees material with

Bunny Sigler Walter "Bunny" Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating t ...

had a good understanding of what qualities the vocalists could bring to the group. With their individual style he knew what they would be like together with Gwendolyn's sweet tone, Cassandra's soul and earthiness and Cheryl's more powerful vocals and embodiment of those two other qualities. So he was granted more time to work with them on their vocal arrangements. The respective talents of each vocalist were highlighted as well. The album sessions were kept within the allotted times and six songs were included. The result was a

disco-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...

album with some elements of Philly soul. This was also the last album that

was involved with and he quit around this time. His replacement was

Horace Ott Horace Ott (born April 15, 1933) is an American jazz and R&B composer, arranger, record producer, conductor and pianist. He is noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists, including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Si ...

for further album releases. Released in 1977 ''

'' came out on

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy T ...

2203. By February 12 it was at #184 on the

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

Top 200. By March 15 it was at #13 on the album chart in Italy. By May 10 it was at #10. The single "Life Is Music" peaked at #102 on the Pop charts, #8 on the Dance charts and #74 on the R&B charts.

''African Queens''

The album was another themed release with a historical nod to three African queens. With the rhythm backing by the group Gypsy Lane the album had a bit more of the driving Euro type snare drum beat to it than the lush Ritchie sound of the previous releases. In July 1977, it was announced in ''Billboard'' that TK Productions was embarking on a massive campaign for the group's ''African Queens'' album. The campaign involved mounting an ''African Queens'' billboard in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, African Queens kites being flown around the country with kite flying contests being linked to radio stations. There were also African Queens canvas tote bags, tee shirts. Included were full-color photos of Cassandra Wooten, Gwendolyn Oliver and Cheryl Mason Jacks dressed as African queens,

Nefertiti Nefertiti () () was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Great Royal Wife, great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious poli ...

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

and

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba, also known as Bilqis in Arabic and as Makeda in Geʽez, is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts for Solomon, the fourth King of Israel and Judah. This a ...

. The album also included the song once done by

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist, composer, and arranger. Known as the "father of exotica," he was a multi-instrumentalist and could play a number of percussion instruments. In a long career that saw him per ...

, "

Quiet Village "Quiet Village" is an orchestral pop instrumental that was written and originally performed by Les Baxter in 1951 and an instrumental album from 1959 by Martin Denny. In the liner notes to his album, ''Ritual of the Savage (Le sacre du sauvage)'', ...

Dismissal of original members and their replacement

By 1978, the three members, Wooten, Oliver and Mason-Jacks were dismissed without warning. It came as a shock to them as one day they were there and the next day they weren't. Even their songwriter

was just as surprised. He went to the studio to attend the recording sessions and there were three new members in front of him. They had been replaced by Jacqui Smith-Lee, Theodosia "Dodie" Draher and Ednah Holt. It was believed that Morali had planned not to renew their contract and he had already been looking for some replacements. Gwendolyn Oliver stepped away from performing and Cassandra Wooten and Cheryl Mason-Jacks later teamed up with Michelle Simpson and formed CasMiJac.

Career: Subsequent line ups

The 1978 album, ''American Generation'', featuring the new line-up was a slight departure from disco and more in the style of

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

, although one of the singles from it was called "I Feel Disco Good." The group abandoned the exotic and highly

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

costumes of their earlier incarnation in favour of a more contemporary, sexually provocative style. For the next album, ''Bad Reputation,'' they brought in

Victor Willis Victor Edward Willis (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and a founding member of the disco group Village People. He performed as their lead singer and was co-songwriter for all of their most successful singles. In the group, h ...

(original lead singer of Village People) joining

in writing the material. Holt soon departed (and formed her own group Ednah Holt and Starluv) and was replaced by lead singer Vera Brown; the group enjoyed success with "Put Your Feet to the Beat." The Ritchie Family line-up of Brown, Smith-Lee and Draher next recorded the ''Give Me A Break'' album, which contained the hits "Give Me A Break" and "Never Be Able to Set You Free." Continuing with album releases, the next was a markedly different partnership with

Jacques Fred Petrus Jacques Fred Petrus (; February 22, 1948 – June 8, 1987) was a West Indian-born businessman and a pioneer of post-disco music. He spent much of his career in Italy and the United States. Early life Born in Guadeloupe in the French West Indies, P ...

and

Mauro Malavasi Mauro Malavasi (born 21 March 1957) is an Italian pianist, songwriter and producer. After graduating from the Bologna Conservatory and performing in several jazz ensambles, in 1977 he started collaborating with Jacques Fred Petrus in various dis ...

, the pair behind

Change Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of t ...

. The album they recorded was ''I'll Do My Best (For You Baby)''; following that was ''All Night All Right'' (1983). By this time, Dodie Draher had left the group and newcomer Linda James took over her spot. In 1980, they joined Village People for the movie ''

Can't Stop the Music ''Can't Stop the Music'' is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker in her only directed featured film. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village Peop ...

''. The film was a resounding failure and still appears on many critics' "worst ever" lists; however, the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

sold well in some parts of the world. Disco music had peaked in major territories such as the USA. After deciding to split, when group owner Jacques Morali discovered he had AIDS, the group continued as Vera Brown and the Rich Girls for one song called "Too Much Too Fast" that failed completely. Vera Brown has reformed The Ritchie Family, with Dodie Draher and Jacqui Smith-Lee, but without further releases. With original members Wooten, Mason-Jacks and Oliver, the group achieved its highest grossing sales.

Work outside The Ritchie Family

Cas Mijac

Cas Mijac is the name given to a background vocal group which was made up of Michelle Simpson, Cassandra Wooten and Cheryl Mason Jacks. Wooten and Jacks tried to re-group after their leaving The Ritchie Family. In 1980, Wooten, Mason-Jacks joined Michelle Simpson and sang background vocals on

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's ''

Double Fantasy ''Double Fantasy'' is the fifth collaborative studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the final one before Lennon's death. Released in November 1980 on Geffen Records, the album marked Lennon's return to recording music full-time, followin ...

'' album. Working with Tony Davilio, they first worked on " Starting Over". As Davilio tells it, they were set up in the studio about three feet away from him around a suspended microphone. Because Wooten, Mason-Jacks, and Simpson didn't read music, Davilio was at the piano giving them their notes. He had to do it a few times and giving each of them their notes a few bars at a time. This method was used in the recording process as well. This can take time. Whenever one of Cas Mijac had to do a retake, the engineer would have to stop the tape and re-cue it back to the point of recording. After the couple of minutes it took to do this, they would sometimes forget their notes which frustrated Davilio who having been a smoker was suffering the effects of nicotine withdrawal. He would forget their names, confusing Cassandra with Cheryl. With the session continuing and both parties forgetting things he was getting frustrated and they were getting annoyed and things were getting unpleasant. While working on the song "

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

" he continued with the misnaming. Meanwhile Lennon had come into the studio and was standing behind him and, in Davilio's words, slapped Davilio "upside the head". The women were discussing going on the road with Lennon, but his being killed ended that opportunity. After that they put priority on new careers and their families.

Other

Cheryl Mason Dorman sang a song "Whatever He Says, Just Do It!" which appears on the Christian-themed ''Pacita's Friends'' album which also featured Lenora Davis, Carrie Lloyd and Roz Christian. The album was released in 2007. Gwendolyn Oliver (married to musician

) opted for the quiet life, was a committed Christian who was very involved in her church and held Bible study sessions. She died on November 27, 2020, at age 71.

Reformation

In the beginning of reforming, Cheryl Mason-Dorman and Cassandra Wooten worked for a period of time with Michelle Simpson who they worked with in Cas Mijac. Then they stopped for a period and then later settled with Renee Guilory-Wearing. Now with original members Cassandra Wooten, Cheryl Mason-Dorman and new member Renee Guilory-Wearing as the reformed group they started touring. The Ritchie Family is featured in Jim Arena's book ''First Ladies of Disco'', released in June 2013. In July 2016, The Ritchie Family released a single "

Ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

" on

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the The Weather Girls, Two Tons O' Fun, along with Izora Armstead, as they sang b ...

's Purple Rose recording label. The song was later remixed and released as a maxi-single of six tracks. In 2021, they released the single, "Whatcha Got". The group appeared on the Italian Show ‘I Migilor Anni - Dell 'Estate' on May 27, 2023.TvBlog, 28 Maggio 2023
I MIGLIORI ANNI DELL’ESTATE, SECONDA PUNTATA 27 MAGGIO 2023: ANTICIPAZIONI
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Members timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Greatest Hits'' (1990,

Unidisc Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a cappel ...

) *''The Best Disco in Town: The Best of the Ritchie Family'' (1994, Hot Productions)

Singles

* "The Best Disco in Town" also charted at No. 4 on the Disco Action chart as part of all tracks from the album ''Arabian Nights''.

Soundtracks

* 1979: ''Je Te Tiens, Tu Me Tiens Par La Barbichette'' * 1980: ''

References

External links

* *
Facebook - Original line up

Facebook - Original Ritchie Family

* Rai channel
The Ritchie Family con 'The best disco in town' e 'American generation' - I migliori anni 27/05/2023
- The Ritchie Family con il proprio ritmo statunitense con 'The best disco in town' e 'American generation'

Interviews

Live it Up with Donna Drake The Ritchie Family, Aug 30, 2016

Backstage Exclusives With Robin Richie featuring THE RITCHIE FAMILY, Nov 3, 2019

The Ritchie Family interviewed by Lenny Fontana for True House Stories™ # 017, Nov 19, 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie Family, The African-American girl groups American dance music groups American disco girl groups Casablanca Records artists RCA Victor artists Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from Philadelphia 1975 establishments in Pennsylvania