A music legend has offered one of her most iconic songs for Vice President Kamala Harris to use on the campaign trail.
Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge thinks their hit, "We Are Family" is the perfect song not only for the Democratic presidential nominee, but also for the nation as a whole.
"I do think that our country is in need of 'We Are Family.' It's time," she told Newsweek. "I feel like we've been through a lot of turmoil lately and I think it's time for our country to embrace each other and that there's something in the message of 'We Are Family' that can help that."
When Harris stepped in to run for the White House after President Joe Biden left the race in July, Sledge reached out to a colleague to tell them she wanted to give the song to her campaign telling him, that they "need 'We Are Family.'"
"I am supportive of Kamala Harris. I think it's the kind of song to help us; and for our country to embrace each other," she said.
Sledge's vocals lead the song that was released in 1979 and later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008, but she never tires of performing it.
She knows that might sound like a stretch, especially after almost 50 years of singing, but it's people's reactions to it that make it feel fresh every time she hits the stage.
"I know this sounds crazy, but for as many times as I've sang 'We Are Family,' it's always a different feeling with the crowd, and there's always this feeling across the crowd and they embrace it," Sledge said.
Sister Sledge was originally made up of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy, who was the youngest. They formed in 1971 and became big around the world in countries such as Japan and the U.K. when Sledge was only 13 years old before they became household names in their home country.
"We Are Family" and other hits such as "Thinking Of You" and "He's the Greatest Dancer," helped put Sister Sledge on the map and catapult them into stardom.
Describing them as the "original girl group," Sledge eventually left Sister Sledge to pursue a solo career in 1989, which would create a rift between her and her sisters that would last decades.
They were embroiled in legal battles as Sledge fought with them to use the Sister Sledge name.
Eventually in 2021 they agreed she could tour using it and she now performs as Sister Sledge featuring Kathy Sledge.
Newsweek contacted the Harris campaign and representatives of the remaining Sledge sisters via email on Monday for comment.
Even though she has been on the road since she was a teenager, 65-year-old Sledge is not retiring any time soon. She is focused on making new music, touring, producing live shows and recording The Family Room podcast with her daughter, Gabrielle.
"I'm very excited right now and embracing this plateau of producing," she said.
Whether or not she reunites with her sisters, Debbie and Kim—Joni passed away in 2017—remains to be seen.
"I'll think about something like that later," Sledge said of a possible reunion, adding: "I wouldn't say no to that. But, in the meantime, I'm embracing the threshold right now where I am."
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