Biography of The Cookies

The forerunner of Ray Charles' Raelettes, the original Cookies were Margie Hendrix, Ethel "Earl-Jean" McCrea, and Pat Lyles. They recorded for Lamp (Aladdin) in 1954 and Jesse Stone brought them to Atlantic in 1955. They recorded three sessions under The Cookies banner and scored a Top Ten R&B hit with "In Paradise" in 1956. The group also backed Joe Turner and Chuck Willis on their hit recordings in 1956 before being absorbed into the Charles empire and becoming The Raeletts. Almost six years later, a new trio emerged as The Cookies on Dimension, with only McCrea from the first group in its lineup. They did backup vocals for Neil Sedaka, Little Eva, and Carole King, while scoring two Top Ten R&B, one Top Ten, and one Top 20 pop hit in 1962 and 1963. "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" was their biggest, peaking at number three R&B (number seven pop) in 1963. "Girls Grow up Faster than Boys" was their final chart outing in November 1963. ~ Ron Wynn