The Webb Sisters are an English musical duo comprising the siblings Charley and Hattie Webb from Kent, England. They were backing singers for Leonard Cohen and Tom Petty. They also appear on Sting's album If on a Winter's Night....
Biography and history
Charley Webb and Hattie Webb were born in Kent, England, to an entrepreneur-drumming father and a tennis coach mother. They have two brothers, Brad Webb and Rocco Rands-Webb, who are both drummers. According to Charley, music often blared from all over the house. Although Charley became briefly interested with being an ambulance driver, the sisters early on decided on a career in music. Hattie plays the harp and mandolin, and Charley the guitar, clarinet, and piano.
When they were teenagers, the pair began to give recitals all over the country, and played at, among others, charity functions and parties, and played twice for Princess Anne and once for Queen Elizabeth II.
They met Johnny Pierce, a record producer who invited them to Nashville, where they recorded their debut album, Piece of Mind. After six months, they went to California, selling the album at their gigs. They were soon discovered and were offered a publishing deal by Windswept Pacific Publishing, and, soon afterward, they signed a record deal with Universal Records.
Charley and Hattie collaborated with Jeff Trott (Sheryl Crow, Aimee Mann), Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple), and Steve Booker (Duffy) on material that would become their album Daylight Crossing. Two years later they returned to the UK, where they worked with Universal Records sister company Mercury Records for the album's release. Daylight Crossing was produced by Steve Lipson and Youth, recorded at Sarm Hook End, Abbey Road and Olympic Studios. The album featured musicians Simon Tong and Simon Jones from the band The Verve and Steve Gadd and Pino Palladino. Daylight Crossing was released in June 2006 and became the 'Record of the Week' and 'Album of the Week' at BBC Radio 2, reaching No. 2 on UK's TV music video airplay chart. iTunes chose Daylight Crossing as 'Album of the Week' and singled out the song "Torches" as its 'Single of the Week' during its release week. The Webb Sisters performed on The Sharon Osbourne Show and toured in support of Jamie Cullum (for whom their brother Brad has played drums), Jason Mraz, James Morrison and Kubb, alongside band Leya and Joe Echo. Their song "Still The Only One" was played on the TV show Cane on CBS.
In May 2007, The Webb Sisters represented the UK at America's 400th Anniversary Celebrations in Jamestown, Virginia, which aired on NBC. They wrote a song with Sharon Robinson entitled "Pocahontas" that was first performed at the celebrations. At that time they collaborated with Angelo Petraglia (Kings of Leon) and Nashville's Craig Wiseman.
Charley and Hattie recorded the song "Fortune of Soldiers" for a Judy Collins tribute record alongside Chrissie Hynde, Dolly Parton, Shawn Colvin and Rufus Wainwright. The album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins was released on Wildflower Records in 2008.
In November 2008, The Webb Sisters released their EP Comes in Twos. It was released on iTunes in February 2009. The Webb Sisters were asked by Sting to sing on his album If on a Winter's Night…, released October 2010, including his single "Soul Cake". Their second EP, The Other Side, was released in January 2010 to coincide with a solo tour in USA and Canada, which included supporting Rufus Wainwright.
After an invitation by producer Rick Rubin, The Webb Sisters sang on Natalie Maines' (of the Dixie Chicks) version of "God Only Knows", which was featured on the series finale of HBO's Big Love on 20 March 2011.
The band's album Savages was released on 9 May 2011 in UK and beyond. Savages was produced by multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Asher. Savages was nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Adult Contemporary category. They won the award for their song "Baroque Thoughts" in the same category.
The Webb Sisters released the EP When Will You Come Home? in 2013.
Working with Leonard Cohen
In April 2008, it was announced that The Webb Sisters had been chosen to join Leonard Cohen on his first tour in 15 years. The world tour started in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, in May 2008 and concluded at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, in December 2010. 246 shows were played. Leonard Cohen Live in London was recorded in July 2008 at London's O2 Arena and released on 31 March 2009. Charley and Hattie were featured on the DVD on the song "If It Be Your Will".