Little Sister (band)
Little Sister was an
American all-
female vocal harmony group, which served primarily as the background vocalists for the influential
rock/
funk band
Sly & the Family Stone in concert and on record. Originally a
gospel music group called
The Heavenly Tones, Little Sister was comprised of
Vet Stone (Family Stone frontman
Sly Stone's "little sister"), Mary McCreary, and Elva Mouton, and became a recording act of its own for a brief period in
1970-
1971.
Formation
While still in
high school, Vaetta Stewart and her friends Mary McCreary and Elva Mouton had a
gospel group called
The Heavenly Tones and performed at various venues around the
Oakland/
San Francisco area. When Vaetta's older brother Sylvester took on the name
Sly Stone and formed
Sly & the Family Stone with their brother
Freddie, and friends
Larry Graham,
Cynthia Robinson,
Jerry Martini, and
Greg Errico, The Heavenly Tones they were recruited directly out of high school to become
Little Sister, Sly & the Family Stone's background vocalists.
The group performed background vocals on a number of the Family Stone's biggest early hits, including "
Everyday People" and "Stand!" Besides Little Sister's background vocals, Sly, Freddie, Larry Graham, and middle sister
Rose Stone were heard singing backgrounds on the tracks as well.
Hit singles
During the interim period between the releases of the Family Stone albums
Stand! and
There's a Riot Goin' On, Sly Stone negotiated a production deal with
Atlantic Records, resulting in his own imprint, Stone Flower. Stone Flower released four singles, including one by
R&B artist Joe Hicks, one by 6IX, and two by Little Sister: "You're The One" and "Somebody's Watching You", a cover of a song from
Stand!. The Little Sister version of "Somebody's Watching You" was the first major record to have a rhythm track created with a
drum machine.
Both Little Sister 45s reached the
Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 and the
Billboard R&B Top 10 ("You're the One" made it to #4, and "Somebody's Watching You" made it to #8), but for unclear reasons Sly ceased production of further Little Sister recordings, and Little Sister were relegated to background vocal work for the rest of its existence.
Later period
During the post-
1971 period of Sly & the Family Stone, Little Sister began singing nearly all of the background vocals itself, as Sly began singing nearly all of the lead vocals himself.
Little Sister was dissolved when the Family Stone did, in
1975, after the band's fortunes slowly fell due to Sly Stone's drug abuse problems. After the group's dissolution, Mary McCreary married
singer/
songwriter Leon Russell.
*
Vet Stone* Mary McCreary
* Elva Mouton
Singles
* 1970: "You're The One [Part 1]"
b/w "You're The One [Part 2]" (US #22, R&B #4)
* 1970: "Somebody's Watching You" b/w "Stanga" (US #32, R&B #8)
* 1971: "Stanga" b/w "Stanga" (radio promo release only) (US #44 R&B)
Samples
*
Little Sister at the
All Music Guide.
*
Vet Stone's official Little Sister/Stone Family website
