The Ritchie Family

The Ritchie Family
Also known as	Honey & The Bees
Origin	Philadelphia, United States
Genres	Disco
Years active	1975–1984
Labels	RCA
Associated acts	Jacques Morali
Members	Cassandra Wooten Cheryl Mason-Dorman Renee Guilory-Wearing
Past members	Gwendolyn Oliver Jacqui Smith-Lee Theodosia 'Dodie' Draher Ednah Holt Vera Brown Linda James

The Ritchie Family, an American vocal group based in Philadelphia, achieved several hits during the disco era.

The three original members were not related; the group was a creation of Jacques Morali who also formed the Village People. The group took its name from record producer Richie Rome, 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) 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.

Their first hit single, a reworking of the 1930s song "Brazil" reached the Top 20 in the United States in 1975, and the album, also titled Brazil, sold well. The following year they released the album Arabian Nights, and with it the single "The Best Disco in Town". The song was a medley of recent disco songs linked together with an original chorus and it became a worldwide hit.

Their follow up albums Life Is Music, which followed a 1930s theme, and African Queens were only mediocre successes. Each of these four albums was a concept album 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.

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