The Ritchie Family

When the Ritchie Family surfaced in 1975 with "Brazil", which contained \impressive remakes of "Peanut Vendor", "Frenesi" and the title cut, many thought they were merely newcomers who hopped aboard the disco bandwagon in pursuit of quick bucks. Not so.
From 1965 to 1972 Cassandra and Gwen, who met in their school glee club, were part of a group called "Honey & The Bees", an R & B quartet based in Philadelphia, which seems to have nurtured an abundance of musical activity and talent.
Both women agreed, recalling with amusement some of their earliest experiences and memories of boys, out on the corner, fighting over who was going to sing bass or tenor, while the girls were singing in each others' living rooms or on the front stoops, getting each "doo-wa-doo" down pat. "While we used to practice", recalled Gwen, "our parents used to say, 'Oh no, not tonight; you can quit early tonight, you poor girls".
All that practice paid off though, when "Honey & The Bees" met with minor success with regional hits like: "That's What Boys Are Made For", "Better Come Get It" and "It's Gonna Take A Miracle". Did Cassandra and Gwen get swelled heads? Not exactly-when you consider they were too busy putting up with a few unexpected surprises they came up against in the cruel, heartless world.

"One time in Bristol, Pennsylvania" reflected Cassandra, "we worked this rinky-dink club and weren't really getting paid much money.The club owner, for some odd reason, thought he was paying us grand-theft cash. We hadn't brought a p.a. system since we were accustomed to working in clubs which had one; but the owner thought we had come unprepared. He started fussing and saying things like 'Yeah , everytime I hire you professional groups and pay you all this money I get all these problems'. He started ranting and raving to the point where he wanted to fight us-four girls!!!-but we didn't want to 'cause he was around 70 years old! Though his wife tried to calm him down, he said he was going to get a gun and blow us away! So we got up on stage, of course, and started singing without microphones. We were glad to do it-man, were we scared!". They also remembered the good times, particularly the days that they appeared at the Uptown Theatre-the Philadelphia equivalent of New Yorks' Apollo Theatre - which broke in so many contemporary disco artists. "It was the best place to be in the whole world" claimed Cassandra.
After the group disbanded, the disillusioned Gwen and Cassandra joined the Philadelphia School Of Performing Arts, where they met Cheryl, asking her to join them in doing studio work for Ritchie Rome. The result was the "Brazil" album on 20th Century records. Ritchie Rome created "The Ritchie Family" and arranged, co-wrote and produced, with Jacques Morali their first three albums. "Brazil", "Arabian Nights" and "Life Is Music" defined and cemented their sound and yet Rome was the first to leave in an endless list of casualties in the evolving "Ritchie Family".
Producer Jacques Morali seizing total control of "The Ritchie Family", was by 1977 on a roll, and with his new partners, Henri Belolo, Phil Hurtt, and Horace Ott released the groups fourth album. Many consider "African Queens" to be their consumate album. The changes had only begun, 20th Century out-T.K. Marlin in, Richie Rome out-Henri Belolo in. Sadly it seems the changes were more than any of the parties involved could handle. Thus, "African Queens", was to be the final effort for Gwen, Cheryl and Cassandra.
1978 brought new girls to the banner of "The Ritchie Family", Jaqui Smith, Dodie Draher, and Vera Brown. This line-up released "American Generation" for T.K.-Marlin before the next evolution. T.K. Marlin out-Casablanca Records in. After the modest success of "American Generation" this line-up limped into 1979 with the weak and rather aptly named "Bad Reputation" for their new label. It seems the magic was gone and The Ritchie Family indeed was achieving a Bad Reputation!


The 1980's looked bleak for disco music and The Ritchie Family. Jacques Morali out-Jacques Fred Petrus (and Mauro Malavasi) in.
Casablanca out-RCA Records in. A valiant effort by the artists, producers, and new label did produce a bigger hit than their 1979 fiasco. "I'll Do My Best For You Baby" was the first time The Ritchie Family enjoyed airplay and clubplay simultaneously in several years. And yet another series of changes were in the air.
In 1983 Dodie Draher was replaced by Linda James. A new producer, Gavin Christopher was able to pull one more single out of the group. "All Night, All Right" was to be the end of the line. 7 talented women, 4 record labels, 5 production teams and "The Ritchie Family was over! In reviewing their music you can hear the musical evolution and sadly witness the results of all the constant changes. All and all the name "The Ritchie Family" still garners a place in the Discomuseum for their early creations.

From: The Discomuseum

Intervieuw with Henri Belolo