With Love (LP) Sisters Love

Motown’s First Ladies of Funk finally release their vinyl debut, some 45 years after it was originally scheduled!

As the ’70s dawned and Motown relocated to the West Coast, the era of their honey-toned ’60s girl groups came to a resounding halt. The Sisters Love were the antithesis of the traditional Motown group and came to the label from A&M, armed with a lot of funk, sass and attitude.

Paired with some of Motown’s finest writers and producers – Hal Davis, Gloria Jones, Pamela Sawyer, Paul Riser and Willie Hutch – they got off to a rousing start with the gritty “Mr. Fix-It Man” and went into high gear for the UK only release “I’m Learning To Trust My Man”.

Motown had them playing arenas with The Jackson Five (probably not their smartest move!), issued the odd single and scheduled more but Sisters Love’s anticipated breakthrough didn’t happen.

In 1980 New York DJ Danny Krivit pressed up an extended eight-minute re-edit of “Give Me Your Love”, an old B-side from a 1973 single! That song was somewhat of an underground classic but the Krivit mix brought in a whole new legion of fans amongst the rare groove crowd, both in the US and the UK.

Sisters Love had long been rumored to have recorded a complete album for the Motown subsidiary MoWest. Get On Down Records combed the vaults with Motown’s help and the result is the original 10 cut album, plus a bonus cut, “Give Me Your Love.”

Although Gwen Berry passed away some years ago, the other three members of the group – Jeanie Long, Lillie Fort and Vermettya Royster have all been actively involved in this release.