Rose Banks -

Rose Banks is an American soul singer who harmonized with her brother Sly Stone as a member of his band, Sly & The Family Stone. After her mid-Seventies departure, she released the 1976 Motown album Rose.

Background

Rose Banks was born Rose Stewart on March 21, 1945, in Dallas, Texas. By 1950, parents K.C. and Alpha Stewart moved the family to Vallejo, California, where they raised five children in the Church of God in Christ. Alpha Stewart played piano in the household, while K.C. Stewart played violin and other instruments. Rose sang gospel with siblings Sylvester, Freddie, and Vaetta as the Stewart Four, a family group that performed at churches and cut the local 78 “On the Battlefield” (b/w “Walking in Jesus’ Name”).

Rose worked at a local record store after brothers Sly and Freddie Stone formed Sly & the Family Stone in 1966. She initially declined their invitation to join the group because she wanted to retain the steady job, then joined as singer and keyboardist before the February 1968 release of “Dance to the Music.” Stone shared lead passages with Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, and Larry Graham and played piano and electric piano on the subsequent group releases. She remained with Sly & the Family Stone through their 1974 album Small Talk and left amid the breakup of the established lineup.

Stone married Hamp “Bubba” Banks, a manager and co-producer associated with Sly Stone, and adopted the professional name Rose Banks for her solo career. Banks signed an exclusive long-term recording contract with Motown. Motown issued “Whole New Thing” in April 1976 (b/w “What Am I Gonna Do (With My Life)”) as the advance single for her debut solo album.

Discography: