The King of Rock and Roll brings us today’s classic song of the day, “Little Sister.” Elvis Presley released this one as a single in August of 1961 (as a double-sided single with “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame” on the flip side) and it rode the charts all the way to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Little Sister” was written by the legendary team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. These are the guys who also wrote “Turn Me Loose” for Fabian; “A Teenager in Love” for Dion and the Belmonts; “Hushabye” for the Mystics; “Go, Jimmy, Go” for Jimmy Clanton; “This Magic Moment,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Sweets for My Sweet,” and “I Count the Tears” for the Drifters; “Suspicion” for Terry Stafford; “Can’t Get Used to Losing You” for Andy Williams; and “Surrender,” “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame,” and “Viva Las Vegas” for Elvis Presley. They knew their stuff.
The “Little Sister” record was produced by Steve Sholes and recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville. Musicians on the track included Scotty Moore on acoustic and rhythm guitar, Hank Garland on electric lead guitar, Harold Bradley on six-string bass guitar, Bob Moore on acoustic bass, and D.J. Fontana and Buddy Harman on double drums. The Jordanaires provided backup vocals, as usual.
“Little Sister” is a song about a guy being dumped by a girl but then finding himself attracted to that girl’s little sister. He implores her not to “do what your big sister done”—not to kiss him once or twice, say it’s very nice, and then run away. Nobody would like that.
As much as Elvis’ version of “Little Sister is iconic, I also like Ry Cooder’s cover from 1979. That version of “Little Sister” is today’s daily bonus video track of the day.
