The Sisters Love was an American R&B and funk ensemble active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Sisters Love was founded in 1968 by former members of

The Raelettes The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on ...

. Several of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

's backing ensemble quit the band at the same time and soon afterwards organized themselves into their own vocal group.Liner Notes, ''Sisters Love: Give Me Your Love''.

Soul Jazz Records Soul Jazz Records is a British record label based in London. Outside of releasing records, the label also publishes books, occasionally films and performs as a DJ set. The music releases labels from a variety of genres, including reggae, house ...

, 2006. They recorded their first single in 1968 for Los Angeles label Manchild Records and soon after signed with

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. They remained on A&M for several years, appearing in the

Willie Hutch William McKinley Hutchison (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005), better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s. Biog ...

-scored blaxploitation film ''

The Mack ''The Mack'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film directed by California native Michael Campus, starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor. The film also stars Oscar-nominee Juanita Moore and Tony-nominated actor Dick Anthony Williams. Filmed in O ...

'' singing the funk song "Now Is the Time". They scored a hit single in 1971 with "Are You Lonely?", written and produced by Gene Chandler, which reached #20 on the Billboard R&B charts and #108 on the Billboard Singles Chart. Joel Whitburn, ''Top Pop Singles''. 12th edn, p. 896. In 1972, the group left A&M and signed with MoWest Records, a Motown subsidiary. They toured with the

Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

and had an album scheduled for release, ''With Love'', in 1972, but this was shelved and the group disbanded in 1973; the recordings for the album remained unreleased until 2010 when Reel Music issued the album in its intended running list, along with several bonus tracks. "Give Me Your Love", (1973) was one of the group's most successful songs, and was revived in 1980 by New York DJ

Danny Krivit Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English journa ...

who released an extended eight-minute version. ''Give Me Your Love'' was also title of a 2006 singles compilation album released by

. At Motown, the group worked with such songwriters and producers as

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Mot ...

and

Gloria Jones Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song " Tainted Love" and has w ...

. Their 1973 song "I'm Learning To Trust My Man" quickly became a Northern Soul favourite. It was reissued on Tamla Motown in 1975, two years after its original MoWest Release. The song's B-Side, "Try It, You'll Like It" (later recorded by its writer Willie Hutch) was also recorded by Marvin Gaye and is included on the deluxe edition of his album ''

Let's Get It On ''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP. Recording sessions for the album took pla ...

''. MoWest ceased operations in Spring 1973, and the group released their last single, this time for the main Motown label, in November that year, entitled "My Love Is Yours (Till The End Of Time)". A reformed version of Sisters Love later recorded for

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

's Motown revival label

Motorcity Records Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists. History Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...

, releasing the single "No More Broken Hearts" in 1989. Lead singer Vermettya Royster also made solo recordings for the label, including a remake of "Give Me Your Love", released as a single in 1991. Royster later released a solo album in 2009 entitled ''On The Half Shell'', featuring faithful re-recordings of several Sister Love tracks, as well as some original songs.

Members

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song " Gimme S ...

*Jeannie Long *Vermettya Royster *Lillie Fort *Gwen Berry *

Odia Coates Odia Coates (November 13, 1941 – May 19, 1991) was an African-American singer, best known for her high-profile hits with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Early life The daughter of an evangelical minister, Odia Coates was born in Vi ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Motown artists American funk musical groups American soul musical groups American girl groups