Little Sister is the first single released by the Queens of the Stone Age from their fourth album Lullabies to Paralyze. It was first issued as a promotional single in December 2004, but was later released as a commercial single on March 7, 2005. The song was recorded live in the studio in one take.
The song had been in the works for quite a while. An early version was recorded with Dave Grohl in 2002 for the album Songs for the Deaf, but was scrapped. The unfinished recording was later distributed on a bootleg recording compilation. According to Josh Homme, the song was inspired by the “sort of sexual twist” of Doc Pomus’s song of the same name, which is probably best known as recorded by Elvis Presley:
“I like the amalgam of imagery that it puts forward, that throwing a little pebble at the girl’s windows late at night, you know, trying to creep in the back door, you know. And I also love the Elvis song ‘Little Sister’ because I like the sort of sexual twist that’s put on by ‘little sister don’t you do what your big sister done.”
The music video features the band playing in a dark room, with Josh Homme sporting a longer hair style, and girls dancing in the back behind a silhouette screen.
Tracklist:
- Little Sister (Album Version)
- The Blood Is Love (Contradictator Remix)
- Little Sister (CD-ROM video)
Queens of the Stone Age
Josh Homme: vocals, lead guitar
Joey Castillo: drums, percussion
Alain Johannes: rhythm guitar
Troy Van Leeuwen: bass
Mark Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022).
