Rock and roll has several instances of groups who call themselves the _______ Sisters, or the ________ Brothers. And while some are actually related – i.e., the Pointer Sisters or the Everly Brothers – we do have some instances where the term “brothers” does not mean a familiar bond.
I shall demonstrate.
THE KNIGHT BROTHERS
Temptation’s About to Get Me
What an incredible Chess Records side. Beautiful harmony from these two men – neither of which were named “Knight,” and neither of whom were related. And believe it or not, this isn’t the only instance where this very song fits the theme of today’s blog post.
THE VIRGIL BROTHERS
Temptation’s About to Get Me
Now we have an Australian trio – neither of whom were surnamed Virgil. In fact, the guy on the falsetto is Peter Doyle, a former member of the New Seekers. I should note that a re-recording of this Virgil Brothers track was actually released in the USA, on Motown’s Rare Earth rock imprint. Full circle, I guess.
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
Rock and Roll Heaven
I get it. Bob Hatfield and Bill Medley’s group name was more of a representation of their musical style – their blue-eyed soul was a pair of “righteous brothers,” but it also fits into the theme of today’s blog.
THE SCISSOR SISTERS
Take Your Mama
I vaguely remember the Scissor Sisters as one of those bands that got a lot of airplay on MTV (yeah, it was in ancient times, when MTV actually played music videos). I also know that none of the members of the Scissor Sisters were actually sisters. 😀
THE WALKER BROTHERS
Make It Easy On Yourself
What an incredible lead vocal. This is the kind of track you could just play over and over on your Dansette turntable in the 1960’s until the record grooves melted.
THE RAMONES
I Wanna Be Sedated
Psst … I have it on very good authority that although they were listed as being related, and containing the same last surname, the members of the Ramones might actually have had several different sets of parents. Just sayin’ is all. 😀
BLOTTO
I Wanna Be a Lifeguard
Again … same thing. Despite their last names all being “Blotto,” I’m pretty sure they might all have different lineages. Not that there’s anything completely wrong with that.
TWISTED SISTER
I Wanna Rock
Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s no “sisters” in this group, nor is there anyone with the surname of Twisted. At least not that I know of, unless they added a singer or two in recent years.
So there you go. Brothers and sisters, gather around, it’s a family band of unrelated family members. Fun stuff. On K-Chuck Radio.
Chuck The Writer 
During the PMRC hearings, Dee Snyder was addressed as “Mr. Sister” by an unaware member of Congress. Also, what about the White Stripes?
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You mean familial bond, not familiar. They probably did have familiar bonds.
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Some of these acts get their stage names based on the fact that in wrestling, there were “families” that similarly were not related from before our time, like the Duseks, for example.
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