The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven (12" The Remix)
- 12 INCH VINYL
- Mar 3
- 2 min read
Updated: May 20
It was part of the soundtrack to the summer of 1990 (think Gazza's tears at the Italia '90 World Cup), spending ten weeks in the UK Top 40, including two weeks at its peak position of #10.
The Family Stand consists of producers Peter Lord Moreland and V. Jeffrey Smith, and singer Sandra St. Victor.
Lord and Smith went on to produce albums for Paula Abdul, Des'ree, Steel Pulse, and Daryl Hall.
St. Victor enjoyed a rich career before and after the success of this track.
Born in Dallas, Texas, she attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (also attended by Erykah Badu and Norah Jones), before studying music at Kansas University and later moving to New York.
She became a touring musician – first with Roy Ayers' Ubiquity, then with Chaka Khan – and was also busy as a session singer. Through this, she met Lord and Smith, leading to the formation of The Family Stand.
In the mid-1990s and beyond, after The Family Stand, St. Victor released her own solo album and collaborated on new compositions with Chaka Khan and Prince, achieving songwriting credits with both.
As for Ghetto Heaven, St. Victor has expressed some frustration that some people remember it as a Soul II Soul track:
"When I hear the original, or the remix that became the hit, it feels timeless to a certain degree, but in my head, I still hear people saying, 'That was Soul II Soul, right?' No! It was The Family Stand, so I don't want to be reminded. So when I perform it, I try to flip it and make it feel more us."
The single version of the track, and the extended version featured here, were remixed by Jazzie B and Nellee Hooper of Soul II Soul. At the time, Soul II Soul were the hot new sound, and in great demand.
"We were working on Ghetto Heaven when we heard we'd won a Grammy for Back to Life," Jazzie B explained. "We didn’t even really know what a Grammy was. In fact, we didn’t really know what was going on, we were so busy."
V. Jeffrey Smith believes Ghetto Heaven is just one of those songs that has lasting appeal: "You can put any kind of remix behind it, as long as you have the lyrics and the melody, it’s timeless. You can do that forever."
Featured here is the remix in its full-length form. The single version, which was a hit in the UK, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and New Zealand, is an edit of this mix.
The 12" single also features the original version and a dub version of the original.
Year: 1990 Label: Atlantic Cat no: A7997T
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