Roger Frederick Cook (born 19 August 1940) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, who has written many hit records for other recording artists. He has also had a successful recording career in his own right. He is best known for his collaborations with Roger Greenaway. Cook's co-compositions have included " You've Got Your Troubles", and the transatlantic million selling songs, " I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" and " Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". They were the first UK songwriting partnership to win an Ivor Novello Award as 'Songwriters of the Year' in two successive years. In 1997, Cook became the first and so far only British songwriter to enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life

Cook was born in Fishponds,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, England. Most of the hits he has written have been in

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with Roger Greenaway, whom he originally met while they were members of a close

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

group,

the Kestrels The Kestrels were a vocal harmony quartet from Bristol, England, most notable as the group through which the songwriting team of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway first met and started composing jointly. They were one of the busiest vocal groups i ...

. Continuing on as a duo, Cook and Greenaway then had a brief but successful recording career between 1965 and 1967 as David and Jonathan, scoring hits with a cover version of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' "

Michelle Michelle may refer to: People * Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottis ...

", and their own "Lovers of the World Unite". They also penned their first hit as songwriters for others in 1965, with "You've Got Your Troubles", a UK number 2 and US number 7 for

the Fortunes The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...

. As a performer Cook is best remembered as a member of Blue Mink, sharing lead vocals with

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show '' Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...

. The group was formed in 1969, primarily as a producer's outfit, featuring a wealth of top

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s including Herbie Flowers (bassist),

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

(guitarist), Roger Coulam (keyboardist) and Barry Morgan (drummer), who were simultaneously members of the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

/ rock /

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

fusion outfit CCS, another mainly recording act. Over the next four years Blue Mink had several Top 20 entries, mostly co-written by Cook, the most successful being "Melting Pot" and "Banner Man", before they disbanded in 1974. Cook also sang backing vocals on some of the earliest recordings by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, and continued to record albums as a solo artist, including ''Study'' (1970), credited to Roger James Cooke, ''Meanwhile Back at the World'' (1972), ''Minstrel in Flight'' (1973) and ''Alright'' (1976).

Major hits

Amongst hits he has written with others, including Greenaway and writers such as Albert Hammond,

Mike Hazlewood Michael Edward Hazlewood (24 December 1941 – 6 May 2001)Mike Hazelwood – Credits ...

and Tony Macaulay are " I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" ( The New Seekers), " Good Times, Better Times" (

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

), "

Softly Whispering I Love You "Softly Whispering I Love You" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook originally recorded by the duo under the name of David and Jonathan. This version peaked at No. 23 in Australia on '' Go-Set''s National Top 40 Singl ...

" ( The Congregation), " Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" ( Gene Pitney), " Home Lovin' Man" (

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

), "Blame It on the Pony Express" (

Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon were an American vocal soul group, prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Career Originally known simply as The Bandwagon, they were formed in 1967 and featured Artie Fullilove, Billy Bradley, Terry Lewis and ...

), "Something Old, Something New" ( The Fantastics), "Conversations" and "

Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight) "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight)" is a song by English recording artist Cilla Black, released in 1971. Background Written by songwriters Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight ...

" ( Cilla Black), "I've Got You on My Mind", " When You Are a King" and " My Baby Loves Lovin'" ( White Plains), "Gasoline Alley Bred" and " Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the ban ...

); " Freedom Come, Freedom Go" (

The Fortunes The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, the Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US, Canadian, and UK Top 10s. Afterwards, they had ...

), " Doctor's Orders" ( Sunny), " I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" ( Whistling Jack Smith) and "Like Sister and Brother" ( The Drifters). " Miracles" ( Don Williams), Cook co-wrote "

I Just Want to Dance with You "I Just Want to Dance with You" is a song written by John Prine and Roger Cook, and performed by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in April 1998 as the first single to his album '' One Step at a Time''. The song is his ...

" with

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

; Prine recorded the song in 1986 for his album '' German Afternoons'', and it was a hit for

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited fo ...

in 1998. Cook and Greenaway also wrote "High 'N' Dry" (

), which was the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of " Congratulations", the runner-up song for the UK Eurovision Song Contest in 1968.

Move to US

In 1975 Cook moved to the US and settled in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, where he produced more hits including " Talking in Your Sleep" ( Crystal Gayle in 1978, first recorded by

Marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

) and "Love Is on a Roll" ( Don Williams). In 1977 he produced ''The Nashville Album'', a record by Chip Hawkes, who had recently left the Tremeloes (but would rejoin the group a few years thereafter). He also opened a publishing company with accomplished songwriter Ralph Murphy named Pic-A-Lic. In 1992 he joined former

Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...

member Hugh Cornwell and guitarist Andrew West to release an album, '' CCW''. Later he turned to writing for the stage and he has worked on two musicals, '' Beautiful and Damned'', based on the lives of Jazz Age author

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

and his wife Zelda, in collaboration with Les Reed; and ''Don't You Rock Me Daddio'', set in 1957 at the height of the

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

age, with Joe Brown. In 1997, Cook became the first (and so far only) British songwriter to enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Cook's daughter, Katie, is a host/presenter for cable network CMT.

Discography

Albums

* ''Study'' (1970) * ''Meanwhile Back at the World'' (1972) * ''Minstrel in Flight'' (1973) * ''Alright'' (1976) * ''Mother Tongue'' (1980)

As songwriter

* "Banner Man" (with Roger Greenaway and Herbie Flowers) Blue Mink, 1971 UK No. 3 * "(Blame It) On the Pony Express" (with Roger Greenaway and Tony Macaulay)

Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon were an American vocal soul group, prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Career Originally known simply as The Bandwagon, they were formed in 1967 and featured Artie Fullilove, Billy Bradley, Terry Lewis a ...

, 1970 UK No. 7 * "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" (with Roger Greenaway, Albert Hammond and

Mike Hazlewood Michael Edward Hazlewood (24 December 1941 – 6 May 2001)Mike Hazelwood – Credits ...

)

, 1971 UK No. 6 * " Home Lovin' Man" (with Roger Greenaway and Tony Macaulay)

, 1970 UK No. 7 * " I Believe in You" (with Sam Hogin) 1980 Don Williams * " I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" (with Roger Greenaway) Whistling Jack Smith, 1967 UK No. 5 * " I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" (with Roger Greenaway, Bill Backer and Billy Davis) The Hillside Singers, 1971 US No. 13; The New Seekers, 1971 UK No. 1, 1972 US No. 7 * "If It Wasn't for the Reason That I Love You" (with Roger Greenaway) Miki Anthony, 1973 UK No. 27 * " Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (with Roger Greenaway and Allan Clarke)

, 1972 UK No. 32, US No. 2 * "Melting Pot" (with Roger Greenaway) Blue Mink, 1969 UK No. 3 * "

" (with Roger Greenaway) The Congregation, 1971 UK No. 4, 1972 Ger No. 10, US No. 29Joel Whitburn: ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. 7. Auflage. Billboard Books, New York 2000, , S. 214 * "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight)" (with Roger Greenaway) Cilla Black, 1971 UK No. 3 * " Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" (with Roger Greenaway) Gene Pitney, 1967 UK No. 5;

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. H ...

with Gene Pitney, 1989 UK No. 1 * "A Way of Life" (with Roger Greenaway) Family Dogg, 1969 UK No. 6 * " You've Got Your Troubles" (with Roger Greenaway) The Fortunes, 1965 UK No. 2 * "

" (with

) 1986 * "Glory of True Love" (with John Prine) 2005

References

External links

Who is Roger Cook?
Official website * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Roger 1940 births Living people Musicians from Bristol English male singer-songwriters English pop singers English record producers English expatriates in the United States Blue Mink members The Congregation (band) members The Kestrels members