Singer Ersi Arvizu spent her childhood immersed in music within a deeply artistic household in East Los Angeles, absorbing ranchera, mariachi, soul, and R&B from an early age. Family connections delivered her initial breakthrough in 1964 when the Latin soul group the Sisters—comprising her siblings Rosella and Mary—scored a number three hit with the single “Gee Baby Gee.” She continued leading assorted ensembles through the balance of the 1960s until she joined Latin rock stalwarts El Chicano in the mid-’70s, contributing to recordings such as “Sabor a Mi” and “I’m a Good Woman.” Her voice appeared on Ry Cooder’s prize-winning conceptual work Chavez Ravine in 2004. Cooder later repaid the collaboration by helming production for her debut solo effort, Friend for Life, released in 2008 on the Anti label.
