Their look was fresh, the songs were fly and millions of us come of age listening to Sisters With Voices, also known as SWV. Thanks to infectious hits like “I’m So Into You,” Use Your Heart,” “Weak” and “Right Here,” Taj (Tamara Johnson), LeLee (Leann Lyons) and Coko (Cheryl Gamble) distinguished themselves among other R&B peers like En Vogue and TLC, selling millions of CDs and moving crowds around the world.
But by the end of the decade, SWV fell apart: finances, insecurities and ego-tripping ended their closeness and careers. An offer to perform overseas reconnected the trio in 2005, leading to their 2012 CD I Missed Us, which garnered a Grammy nomination and lead to SWV United, a reality show that ran for two seasons on WeTV.
It’s been a successful comebacks, but when LeLee, Taj and Coko came to Dallas recently to promote their just-released fifth CD, Still, the ladies were candid about the struggles they share with the rest of us as wives, mothers and yes, best friends.
It’s great to have SWV back in the mix. What helped your friendships to heal?
LeLee: “We understand each other now as women. We still get on each other’s nerves , but we understand and respect each other, and that’s important. We’re mothers, we have families, and they can piss us off, but….”
Coko: I’ll be [mad] at home—I still have to do what I have to do [at work] and just figure it all out later on.
Speaking of families, Coko’s husband, Mike Clemons, is professional drummer andTaj’s husband, Eddie George, moved from football to performing in “Chicago.” Is it hard to have two entertainers in one house?
Taj: Eddie was looking to fill that football void after he retired and Broadway is where he landed. He’s up there doing his thing and we [18-year old stepson Jaire and 12-year-old son Eriq] are all proud.
Coko: It can be a lot [to handle] with kids stll in the house (20-year-old Jazz and 12-year-old Jaylen). He plays with us on stage sometimes too. We’re busy, but we make it work.
What was it like recording your new music this time around?
Taj: We had to rush. We were in kind of a stalemate with the label trying to get all of the paperwork done in time to jump on the reality show wave [of publicity]. So working on Still, getting the single out [“Ain’t No Man”]…..it was a lot.
Speaking of SWV United, would you all ever like to do reality TV again?
Coko: I’m not saying I wouldn’t do another reality show one day, but it needs to show the good and the bad. We lost some fans because their seeing us [portrayed as] just going at each other made them feel like, ‘you guys aren’t what we thought you were,’ and that wasn’t a cool thing.
What is it like having such vocal followers?
LeLee: Our fans feel like they know us and some can get too personal. Others go negative and tell us we’re too old, washed up…… some are even young kids! I tell em’ I could be their mother and they just need to sit down somewhere.
Coko: I posted a picture of my husband and I the other day and this girl wrote, “He is SO fine.” I responded that I felt she was being disrespectful, and she says, ‘ I just wanted to get your attention.’ Well….. you got it.
You all have been a major inspiration to women who are 40-plus and changing their lives and careers. What gets you through it all?
Coko: Prayer helps.
Taj: You’ll be surprised at what you can do when you have no choice. You can decide to sit there in the midst of the storm or keep going. Life doesn’t stop because you want it to, you’ve got to get up.
LeLee: Going through it is half the battle, like when you’re working out in the gym, those muscles are burning and you push through ten more reps. That’s how I look at life—when it’s hurting, keep going. I lived through that and can only tell you what I know.
