The short-lived female R&B trio Little Sister was best known for its associations with Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart. Not only did Stone organize the trio, its principal member was his sister, Vaetta "Vet" Stewart (hence the group's name). Stewart, Mary Rand, and Elva Melton began singing together as touring backup for Sly & the Family Stone in the late '60s and providing backing vocals on several of their albums. In 1970, Stone produced a series of church-inflected soul tracks for them on his Stone Flower imprint. Two of them became Top Ten R&B hits: "You're the One, Pt. 1" and "Somebody's Watching You," the latter of which the Family Stone had previously recorded on their Stand! album. "You're the One" was the bigger hit, but the funky "Somebody's Watching You" had greater sonic impact: charting in early 1971, it was said to be the first significant pop hit to use programmed drums, and its percolating rhythm-bed presaged that of the Family Stone's own massive hit "Family Affair" later that year. Lacking both management and Sly Stone's continued attention and involvement, the group disbanded shortly thereafter with no fanfare. ~ Joseph McCombs
