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Little Sister | |
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Background information | |
Origin | United States |
Genres | |
Labels | Stone Flower |
Little Sister was an American all-female vocal harmony group, which served primarily as the background vocalists for the influential rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone in concert and on record. Originally a gospel music group called the Heavenly Tones, Little Sister was composed of Vet Stewart (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.
While still in high school, Vaetta Stewart and her friends Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton and Tramaine Hawkins had a gospel group called the Heavenly Tones and performed at various venues around the Oakland/San Francisco area. [1] In 1966 they recorded the album "I Love the Lord" for the Gospel label, and a 45 for the Music City label called "He's Alright". [2] When Vaetta's older brother Sylvester aka Sly Stone formed Sly and the Family Stone with their brother Freddie, and friends Larry Graham, Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini, and Greg Errico, the Heavenly Tones were recruited directly out of high school to become Little Sister, [3] [4] Sly & the Family Stone's background vocalists for their recording.[ citation needed ] Sly Stone got the group to tour with him but Hawkins declined as she wanted to finish school. [5] The group then became Little Sister, which was made up of Vaetta Stewart, Mary McCreary, and Elva Mouton. [6] [7] [8]
Tramaine Hawkins would later have a very successful solo career.[ citation needed ]
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!.
Both Little Sister 45s reached the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 and the Billboard R&B Top 10:
Eventually, Sly ceased production of further Little Sister recordings, and Little Sister were relegated to background vocal work for the rest of its existence. Atlantic flipped the 2nd single over and reserviced it and it charted, as well;
During the post-1971 period of Sly & the Family Stone, Mary McCreary left the group and began a solo career. She married singer-songwriter Leon Russell and, with him, recorded Wedding Album in 1976 and Make Love to the Music in 1977. She was replaced by Lucy Hambrick. Little Sister continued to provide background vocals and perform live with Sly & the Family Stone. 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.
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band originating from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, they were pivotal in the development of funk, soul, R&B, rock, and psychedelic music. Their core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, and included Stone's brother and singer/guitarist Freddie Stone, sister and singer/keyboardist Rose Stone, trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, drummer Greg Errico, saxophonist Jerry Martini, and bassist Larry Graham. The band was the first major American rock group to have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup.
Stand! is the fourth album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released in April 1969. Written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, Stand! is considered an artistic high-point of the band's career. Released by Epic Records, just before the group's celebrated performance at the Woodstock festival, it became the band's most commercially successful album to date. It includes several well-known songs, among them hit singles, such as "Sing a Simple Song", "I Want to Take You Higher", "Stand!", and "Everyday People". The album was reissued in 1990 on compact disc and vinyl, and again in 2007 as a remastered numbered edition digipack CD with bonus tracks and, in the UK, as only a CD with bonus tracks.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American group Sly and the Family Stone. It was first released on November 21, 1970, by Epic Records. The album includes all of the singles from the albums Dance to the Music (1968), Life (1968), and Stand! (1969).
Vet Stone is an American soul singer. She is the sister of Sly Stone, Rose Stone, and Freddie Stone. She was also a member of Sly & the Family Stone and Little Sister.
A Whole New Thing is the debut album by funk/soul band Sly and the Family Stone, released in 1967 on Epic/CBS Records. The album was released to mixed criticism and failed to make an impact from a commercial standpoint and did not chart. CBS Records executive Clive Davis prevailed upon band leader Sly Stone to create a more commercial album; the result was the album Dance to the Music. Unlike later Sly and the Family Stone albums, A Whole New Thing was recorded live in the studio instead of being overdubbed and featured less of a pop feel than later releases such as Dance to the Music and Stand!. The lead vocals are shared between Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, and Larry Graham; Rose Stone would not join the band until they began work on Dance to the Music.
Dance to the Music is the second studio album by funk/soul band Sly and the Family Stone, released in 1968 on Epic/CBS Records. It contains the Top Ten hit single of the same name, which was influential in the formation and popularization of the musical subgenre of psychedelic soul and helped lay the groundwork for the development of funk music.
Life is the third studio album by funk/soul band Sly and the Family Stone, released in September 1968 on Epic/CBS Records. The album was titled M'Lady in the United Kingdom.
Fresh is the sixth album by American funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released by Epic/CBS Records in June 1973. Written and produced by Sly Stone over two years, Fresh has been described as a lighter and more accessible take on the dense, drum machine-driven sound of its landmark 1971 predecessor There's a Riot Goin' On. It was the band's final album to reach the US Top 10, entering the Billboard Album Chart on June 30, and their last of three consecutive number-one albums on the R&B chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 186 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Small Talk is the seventh album by Sly and the Family Stone, released by Epic/CBS Records in 1974. This album was the final LP to feature the original Family Stone, which broke up in January 1975.
"Stand!" is a 1969 song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone Issued as a single that year by Epic Records, it reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Hot Soul Songs charts.
"Sing a Simple Song" is a 1968 song by the soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their #1 hit "Everyday People". The song is sung in turn by Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, and Larry Graham, with shouted spoken word sections by Cynthia Robinson. As with nearly all of Sly and the Family Stone's songs, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart was credited as the sole songwriter.
Tramaine Aunzola Richardson, known professionally as Tramaine Hawkins, is an American award-winning Gospel singer whose career spans over five decades. Since beginning her career in 1966, Hawkins has won two Grammy Awards, two Doves, and 19 Stellar Awards.
"Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic Records label. Their first new material since the double A-sided single "Thank You "/ "Everybody Is a Star" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the third and final number-one pop single for the band. In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song 57th on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The cover version by John Legend, Joss Stone, and Van Hunt, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back is the eighth studio album by American funk/soul/rock band Sly and the Family Stone, released by Epic/CBS Records in 1976. This album is an effort to return the idea of the "Family Stone" band to singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone's work, after his previous album, High on You, was released without the Family Stone name. It also reflects the beginnings of change in the concept of "Sly and the Family Stone". The original Family Stone had broken up in 1975, and a new Family Stone was assembled for this album: the only holdover is stalwart Family Stone trumpet player Cynthia Robinson. Vet Stone and Elva Mouton, both formerly members of Family Stone backing band Little Sister, are credited as providing "additional background vocals", and John Colla is credited as providing "alto and soprano saxes, vocals". Colla would go on to become a founding member and integral part of "Huey Lewis and The News", both producing and penning such hits as "Heart of Rock & Roll", "Power of Love", and "If This Is It".
This is a discography for the work of Sly Stone outside of his most famous band, Sly and the Family Stone.
Edwin Reuben Hawkins was an American gospel musician, pianist, vocalist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. As the leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, he was probably best known for his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" (1968–69), which was included on the "Songs of the Century" list. In 1970, the Edwin Hawkins Singers made a second foray into the charts, backing folk singer Melanie on "Lay Down ".
"Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. David Crosby and Graham Nash, Stills's fellow members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, provide background vocals on the song. Also providing the backups are Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Jones, and John Sebastian. They all sing the "Do Dos" that come before the instrumental portion and the outro. The song was also recorded by the Isley Brothers, The Meters, Bucks Fizz, Luther Vandross, Bob Seger and Richard Clapton, among others.
Gentry McCreary Sr. is a gospel music executive. He's most noted as the First African-American Executive to be employed by Word Records, Light Records and Benson Records. McCreary's achievements also include the development of his own labels, Luminar and Onyx International Records.
"Somebody's Watching You" was a single for Little Sister in 1970. It became a hit for the group and registered in the Billboard and Cash Box charts.
Mary McCreary is an American singer, pianist and composer. She has been a member of hit making recording acts, Little Sister and Leon & Mary Russell. She has recorded her own albums for the MCA and Shelter labels. As a session singer she has sung on a multitude of artists' recordings such as Sly & the Family Stone, Michael Bolotin, Melba Moore and Denny Laine.