Sue & Sunny were a British vocal duo of the 1960s and early '70s, who made numerous recordings, both under their own name as well as making a multitude with other musicians, and working in such studio ensembles as
the Brotherhood of Man and
Edison Lighthouse. They were sisters, their real names Yvonne Wheatman and Heather Wheatman, both in Madras, India. They made their first recording together in 1963 for the Oriole label, as the Myrtelles with a rendition of
Lesley Gore's "Just Let Me Cry," and they subsequently recorded as the Stockingtops and as Sue & Sunshine. After a few years singing in cabaret (whilst Sunny, the younger of the sisters, was still in her mid-teens), they moved to Germany and played air bases there, and released a few German singles. Their breakthrough, of a sort, took place when singer
Lesley Duncan needed backup vocalists for a session and they agreed to do it -- the results were impressive, so much so that within weeks they were getting requests to sing behind
Dusty Springfield,
Tom Jones, et al -- and their breakthrough as session musicians came with their backing
Joe Cocker on his recording of "With a Little Help from My Friends." They were on a pair of
Elton John's early albums,
Tumbleweed Connection and
Madman Across the Water, and worked with
Love Affair,
Lulu,
Mott the Hoople, and
T. Rex, to name just a few. Their appearance with
Cocker on Top of the Pops only enhanced their public reputation, this despite their never having charted a record under their own name, and the session work just piled up after that --
Frank Zappa,
Giorgio Moroder, and
James Last were among those knocking on their door with offers of recording and performing work. They were especially busy within the orbit of manager/producer
Tony Macaulay, and songwriter/producers
Roger Cook and
Roger Greenaway, with whom they worked on numerous sessions, backing such studio creations as
the Brotherhood of Man and
Edison Lighthouse. Finally, in the early '70s, the two sisters decided to go solo, and each managed to score some success on her own that had somehow eluded them as a duo. They continued to work together on occasion as session singers into the '80s and beyond, though
Sue & Sunny's official recording days as a duo ended at the start of the '70s. ~ Bruce Eder