The Ritchie Family are an American

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in se ...

based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

that achieved several hits during the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

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 creating acts like The Ritchie Family and Village People. Early life Morali was born in Casablanca, Morocco ...

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, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release ...

. The group took its name from record producer

Richie Rome Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austr ...

, 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 lead ...

) 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. 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 ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'', they had success with the '' Arabian Nights'' album. Their follow up albums '' Life Is Music'', which followed a 1930s theme, and ''

African Queens African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

'' 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 musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

. 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-pregón composed by Moisés Simons. Together with "Guantanamera", it is arguably the most famous piece of music created by a Cuban musician. "The Peanut Vendor" has been recorde ...

". 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 Wotton'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 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 '' Arabian Nights'' album. The single from the album was "

The Best Disco in Town "The Best Disco in Town" is a 1976 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 number one for one week ...

". The song was a medley of recent disco songs linked together with an original

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

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 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 arranger on recordings by w ...

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 th ...

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

Ritchie Rome Ritchie may refer to: People Surname *Adele Ritchie (1874–1930), singer – comic opera, musical comedy and vaudeville *Albert Ritchie (1876–1936), governor of Maryland 1920 to 1935 *Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (1890–1954), crossword compiler ...

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, noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Simone, Hou ...

for further album releases. Released in 1977 '' Life Is Music'' came out on

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

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

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

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 Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

and

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

. The album also included the song once done by

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

, "

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 naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

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 actor. He is the 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 ...

(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 ...

and

Mauro Malavasi Mauro Malavasi (born 21 March 1957) is an Italian pianist, songwriter and producer. He was an important figure in Italian disco with his business partner Jacques Fred Petrus and went on to write and produce hits with various Italian musicians. He ...

, the pair behind

Change Change or Changing may refer to: 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 the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

. 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. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village People loosely based on the actual story ...

''. 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 peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's ''

Double Fantasy ''Double Fantasy'' is the fifth album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in November 1980 on Geffen Records. Produced by Lennon, Ono and Jack Douglas, it was the seventh and final studio album released by Lennon during his lifetime. The al ...

'' album. Working with

Tony Davilio Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby lea ...

, 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. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

" 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 frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

" on

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...

's Purple Rose recording label. The song was later remixed and released as a maxi-single of six tracks.

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 cap ...

) *''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

h2>

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