Yvette and Yvonne McCarther were among the world's oldest unseparated Siamese twins. They were craniopagus twins, joined at the head. They had separate personalities, brains and other organs, but shared a circulatory system. They started singing gospel at the age of 6 and continued to have a long, beautiful career. They traveled all over the United States, singing with most of the top gospel groups.
The sisters were born in 1949 and after a brief tour with a circus, to which their mother was forced to agree to because of thousands of dollars in medical bills, the girls grew up as normally as possible under the circumstances. Over the years, they developed a sense of humor about themselves, one feigning ignorance of the other, for example, when she would introduce herself to a boy. The sisters had distinct personalities. Yvette was quiet and shy, Yvonne more outgoing. Yvette loved to eat, and Yvonne complained that she gained weight because of it.
In 1974, the women recorded “He's Sweet I Know” and “After It Is All Over Down Here.” These recordings were private pressings not made for public distribution, and include their raucous 60's pairing plus a sweet childhood chant and an unusual incantation by their mom, set to spook show organ grinding. In 2010 Norton Record put out an EP with four tracks, After It's All Over, He's Sweet I Know, Your Mother and We Are Workers For The Lord.
The sisters were found dead in their home in January 1993, victims of heart failure. They were 43 years old.
