The Living Sisters

Inara George, Becky Stark, and Eleni Mandell, three Los Angeles songwriters, launched the Living Sisters in 2006. Before uniting, George had delivered retro-pop material alongside the Bird and the Bee, Stark had issued chamber folk recordings with Lavender Diamond, and Mandell had maintained a healthy solo career. Their common affinity for vocal jazz, gospel, doo wop, and country harmonies drew them into regular collaboration as schedules allowed. Enough shared availability surfaced by 2009 for the trio to cut an album under co-producer Sheldon Gomberg, and Vanguard Records brought out the finished Love to Live in March 2010. Nearly three years later the group released a covers EP that featured interpretations of songs first recorded by Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, and Doris Day, while Alex Lilly (Obi Best), who had previously backed George on Bird and the Bee tours, augmented the lineup. In 2014 the Living Sisters delivered their first-ever Christmas album, Harmony Is Real: Songs for a Happy Holiday.