A Second Dose of Sister Double Happiness's 1988 Grunge Blues Debut Album

Beyond the major grunge bands we still hear about decades later, there were many groups that filled out the rest of the scene—bands that contributed to the sound even if they never broke through commercially. One of those was Sister Double Happiness. Led by Gary Floyd, the group had roots in the Texas punk scene but ultimately based themselves in San Francisco. They signed with SST, a label that housed several early grunge‑leaning acts including Soundgarden. Over the course of four albums, Sister Double Happiness blended hard rock with grunge, blues, punk, and even acoustic elements. They shared bills with Nirvana, Soundgarden, and other rising bands of the era, earning respect within the Seattle community despite not being from the Pacific Northwest. The band disbanded in 1995, with members moving on to other projects.

Label 51—a company working to bring overlooked albums back into circulation, much like Rhino Records did decades ago—is reissuing Sister Double Happiness on vinyl on February 13th. The album features Gary Floyd on vocals and guitar, Lynn Perko on drums, percussion, and keyboards, Ben Cohen on guitar, and Jeff Palmer on bass. The band wasn’t afraid to infuse blues into their hard‑rock foundation, and in doing so, their grungier songs broadened the genre’s sonic palette.

Very few grunge bands incorporated blues as frequently as Sister Double Happiness. Only a handful of grunge and post‑grunge acts—such as Candlebox, The Gits, and Hammerbox—ever wove blues into their sound to a similar extent. Their contributions should have drawn more attention, but despite a strong reputation, they never charted a single or album.

Fortunately, Label 51 is giving listeners a second chance to discover one of the lesser‑known bands from the early grunge era. Gary Floyd passed away in 2024, but perhaps his bandmates and family will take comfort in knowing that Floyd and Sister Double Happiness are being heard again.