Little Sister - Ry Cooder

A song that always seems to have been in the background for me is Little Sister by Ry Cooder. (There is also a great, but faster, live version here.) Even though I could never quite pinpoint what it is that appealed to me about the song, I remember it vividly from my childhood radio listening days.

Fast forward to the 1980s when I was first learning to play the piano. Dad said I could learn a couple of songs to play with his band one night and his keyboard player (my piano teacher) and I worked out what was manageable for me to play. We settled on the dreadful Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves and this number by Elvis Presley:



It was a long time before I realised that these were actually versions of the same song. In fact, it was only the lyrics that made me think about it. Now I wonder how I could have possibly missed it! There have been several versions of Little Sister released over the years, but I remain most impressed with Ry Cooder's fun arrangement.