The Shepherd Sisters were an American vocal quartet of four sisters born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, United States: Martha, Gayle, Mary Lou, and Judith Shepherd.
The sisters were born into a family of eight children, six sisters and two brothers, with Judith being the youngest. In the late 1950s, they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. One of their first recordings, "Gone with the Wind" got them a call from Dick Clark. Subsequently, they made many appearances on Clark's American Bandstand.
In New York City, Morty Craft had a song he wanted them to record, "Alone". In 1957, "Alone" would become their biggest hit and their signature song. In the U.S. it reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; in the UK Singles Chart it made No. 14. Its chart progress may have been hindered by several rival cover versions on both sides of the Atlantic. In all the Shepherd Sisters recorded over thirty songs, many of them on one of Morty Craft's record labels such as Melba and Lance.
Craft also introduced them to the DJ Alan Freed, the man often credited with coining the term "rock and roll."