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 composed 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. Heavenly Tones 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. 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 two singles by Little Sister: "You're The One" and "Somebody's Watching You", a cover of a song from album 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.
