The Cookies were an American R&B girl group active in two distinct lineups, the first from 1954 to 1958 which later became the Raelettes, and the second from 1961 to 1967. Several of the members of both lineups were members of the same family. Both lineups were most prominent as session singers and backing vocalists.

History

Formed in 1954 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, the Cookies originally consisted of Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea and Dorothy's cousin, Beulah Robertson. In 1956, Robertson was replaced by Margie Hendricks (Hendrix). The group was introduced to

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

through their session work for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. In 1958, the Cookies performed with

and Ann Fisher for the

Cavalcade of Jazz The Cavalcade of Jazz events were large outdoor jazz festivals held annually between 1945 and 1958 in Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California, U.S. They were the first such large-scale events and were produced by an African American, Leon Hefflin, ...

concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr., held at the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, an ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John,

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

Ernie Freeman Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop music, pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s. B ...

, and Bo Rhambo. Sammy Davis Jr. was there to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest. After backing Charles and other Atlantic Records artists, McCrea and Hendricks helped form the Raelettes in 1958. Pat Lyles was a Raelette, but never a Cookie.

Second lineup

In 1961, a new version of the Cookies emerged in New York, with Dorothy Jones joining newcomers Earl-Jean McCrea (Darlene's younger sister) and another of Dorothy's cousins, Margaret Ross. Jones also recorded one solo recording for Columbia in 1961. This trio had the greatest success as the Cookies: under their own name; as backing vocals for other artists, including

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

's hit songs " Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "The Dreamer" and "Bad Girl"; and recording demos for

Aldon Music Aldon Music was a New York–based music publishing company, founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins in 1958. Aldon is regarded as having played a significant role in shaping the Brill Building Sound in the late 1950s and 1960s. History Nevins w ...

, under the direction of

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

and

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

. They provided the backup vocals for the

Little Eva Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), known by her stage name Little Eva, was an American singer, well known for her 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion". Biography Boyd was born in Belhaven, North Carolina in 1943 and had twelve siblin ...

hit song, "

The Loco-Motion "The Loco-Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a pop music, pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is espec ...

", as well as her follow-up hit "

Let's Turkey Trot "Let's Turkey Trot" is a popular song with writing credits to Gerry Goffin and Jack Keller (songwriter), Jack Keller and/or Carole King. It was released by Little Eva as her third single for the Dimension label. The Little Eva's recording debuted ...

", both from 1962; and for

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

's hit version of " Comin' Home Baby". They scored their biggest hit in 1963 with the song " Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)", which reached number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and #7 on the ''Billboard''

Pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. A 1962 hit, " Chains", was recorded by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

on their debut release '' Please Please Me''. Earl-Jean McCrea left the group in 1965 after two solo singles, which included the first recording of the Goffin/King song " I'm Into Something Good", made famous by

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1963 in Manchester and formerly fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous tra ...

. The Cookies also released several recordings under other names, mostly with Margaret Ross on lead vocals. Their alternative names on recordings were the Palisades (Chairman), the Stepping Stones (Philips), the Cinderellas (Dimension) and the Honey Bees (Fontana 1939 only); record labels are given in brackets. In April 1967, they released their last record, produced by

the Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band (rock and pop), band and production of phonograph records, record production company group from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York City. The group had four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

. Darlene McCrea returned to replace her sister for this recording. Margie Hendrix died on July 14, 1973, at the age of 38. Dorothy Jones died in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, from complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

on December 25, 2010, at the age of 76. Darlene McCrea died from cancer on February 4, 2013, at 76. Margaret Ross, now Margaret Williams, tours today as the Cookies with new back-up singers. She also performs with Barbara Harris and

the Toys The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968. Their most successful recording was " A Lover's Concerto" (1965), which sold more than two million copies and reached the number ...

occasionally.

Members

Personnel

*Dorothy Jones - 1954–1958, 1961–1967 *"Ethel" Darlene McCrea - 1954–1958, 1964–1967 *Beulah Robertson - 1954–1956 * Margie Hendricks - 1956–1958 * Earl-Jean McCrea - 1961–1964 *Margaret Ross - 1961–1967 Dorothy, Beulah, and Margaret were first cousins; their respective mothers were sisters. Beulah and Margaret were not members of the group during the same period, but both performed with Dorothy. Darlene and Earl-Jean were sisters, but were not members of the group during the same period.

Discography

Singles

Discography as backup singers

* " Drown In My Own Tears" -

, 1955 * " Corrine Corrina" -

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

, 1956 * " It’s Too Late" -

Chuck Willis Harold "Chuck" Willis (January 31, 1926 – April 10, 1958) was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, " C. C. Rider" (1957) and " What Am I Living For" (1958), both reached No.1 on the '' ...

, 1956 * " Lonely Avenue" - Ray Charles, 1956 * " Halfway to Paradise" -

Tony Orlando Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis (born April 3, 1944), known professionally as Tony Orlando, is an American Pop music, pop/Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and music executive whose career spans nearly seven decades. He is best known for h ...

, 1961 * " Bless You" - Tony Orlando, 1961 * "

" -

, 1962 * " Breaking Up is Hard to Do" -

, 1962 * " Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" - Little Eva, 1962 * " Comin' Home Baby" -

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

, 1962 * " Next Door to an Angel" - Neil Sedaka, 1962 * " Blame It on the Bossa Nova" - Eydie Gorme, 1963 * "Don't Try to Fight It, Baby" - Eydie Gorme, 1963 * "I Want to Stay Here" -

Steve and Eydie Steve and Eydie were American pop vocal duo Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. They began working together in 1954 on ''Tonight Starring Steve Allen'', and in a career spanning a half century, they became "a ubiquitous presence on records, televisi ...

, 1963 * "

" - Little Eva, 1963 * "

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film '' Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, ...

" - Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva, 1963 * "Happy Being Fat" - Big Dee Irwin, 1963 * "You're My Inspiration" - Big Dee Irwin, 1963 * " Hey Girl" - Freddie Scott, 1963 * "Bad Girl" - Neil Sedaka, 1963 * "

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells (songwriter), Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat K ...

" - Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva, 1963 * "The Shadow of Your Love" - The Blue Eyed Soul featuring

Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment", a US number 1 ...

, 1966

References

Bibliography

*Clemente, John (2000). ''Girl Groups -- Fabulous Females That Rocked The World''.

Iola, Wisconsin Iola is a village in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,236 at the 2020 census. The village is bordered by the towns of Iola and Scandinavia. The community was named after a Potawatomi princess. Geography Iola is lo ...

, Krause Publications. p. 276. . *Clemente, John (2013). ''Girl Groups -- Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World''.

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, Authorhouse Publications. p. 623.

External links

* The Cookieson

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

The Cookies
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history-of-rock.comThe Cookies
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last.fm

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cookies, The African-American girl groups Musical groups established in 1954 Musical groups disestablished in 1967 Musical groups from New York (state) American soul musical groups Atlantic Records artists American R&B girl groups