The Cookies


The Cookies were an American R&B girl group active from 1954 to 1967. Members of the original lineup later became the Raelettes, the backing vocalists for Ray Charles.

History

Formed in 1954 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the Cookies' membership originally consisted of Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea and Dorothy's cousin, Beulah Robertson. Robertson was replaced in 1956 by Margie Hendricks. The group was introduced to Ray Charles through their session work for Atlantic Records. In 1958, The Cookies performed with Ray Charles and Ann Fisher for the Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr., held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, Ernie Freeman, 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 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's hit songs "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "The Dreamer" and "Bad Girl"; and recording demos for Aldon Music, under the direction of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. They provided the backup vocals for the Little Eva hit song, "The Loco-Motion", as well as her follow-up hit "Let's Turkey Trot", both from 1962; and for Mel Tormé's hit version of "Comin' Home Baby". They scored their biggest hit in 1963 with the song "Don't Say Nothin' Bad ", which reached number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard Pop chart.
A 1962 hit, "Chains", was recorded by the Beatles 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 Hermans Hermits.
The Cookies also released several recordings under pseudonyms, mostly with Margaret Ross on lead. Their alter egos on recordings were the Palisades, the Stepping Stones, the Cinderellas and the Honey Bees.
In April 1967, they released their last record, produced by the Tokens. Darlene McCrea returned to replace her sister for this recording.
Dorothy Jones died on Christmas Day 2010, from complications of Alzheimer's disease, in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 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 occasionally.
Darlene McCrea died from cancer on February 4, 2013.

Members

Personnel

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