Thurston Harris

During the early 1950s, Thurston Harris contributed vocals to the Lamplighters, one of numerous ensembles active on the emerging R&B circuit in South Central Los Angeles. The ensemble later passed through the Tenderfoots before settling on the Sharps; under that final designation the members supplied backing vocals for Harris on his signature 1957 Aladdin single “Little Bitty Pretty One,” which reached number two R&B and number six pop. Also in 1957, while under solo contract to Aladdin, Harris cut his own version of Bobby Day’s classic novelty number, backed by a tight band that featured ubiquitous session drummer Earl Palmer and background vocals from his Sharps associates. The release immediately placed Harris among the foremost names on the R&B scene. A second Top 20 R&B entry, “Do What You Did,” followed in 1958, after which Harris registered no further chartings. In 1990 he suffered a fatal heart attack in Pomona, CA, at the age of 58. “Little Bitty Pretty One” has since become one of the most fondly remembered oldies of the late 1950s.