The Cookies

The Cookieswere an AmericanR&Bgirl groupactive in two distinct lineups, the first from 1954 to 1958 which later becameThe 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 assession singersand backing vocalists.
Formed in 1954 inBrooklyn,New York, United States, the Cookies originally consisted of Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea and Dorothy's cousin, Beulah Robertson.In 1956, Robertson was replaced byMargie Hendricks(Hendrix). The group was introduced toRay Charlesthrough their session work forAtlantic Records. In 1958, The Cookies performed withRay Charlesand Ann Fisher for theCavalcade of Jazzconcert produced byLeon Hefflin Sr., held at theShrine AuditoriuminLos Angeles, on August 3. The other headliners wereLittle Willie John,Sam Cooke,Ernie Freeman, andBo 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 formthe Raelettesin 1958.Pat Lyles was a Raelette, but never a Cookie.
In 1961, a new version of the Cookies emerged in New York, with Dorothy Jones joining newcomersEarl-Jean McCrea(Darlene's younger sister) and another of Dorothy's cousins, Margaret Ross. Jones also recorded one solo recording forColumbiain 1961. This trio had the greatest success as the Cookies: under their own name; as backing vocals for other artists, includingNeil Sedaka's hit songs "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "The Dreamer" and "Bad Girl"; and recording demos forAldon Music, under the direction ofCarole KingandGerry Goffin.They provided the backup vocals for theLittle Evahit song, "The Loco-Motion",as well as her follow-up hit "Let's Turkey Trot", both from 1962; and forMel Tormé'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 theBillboardR&B chartand #7 on theBillboardPop chart.
A 1962 hit, "Chains", was recorded bythe Beatleson their debut releasePlease 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 byHerman's Hermits.
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 bythe Tokens. 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 inColumbus, Ohio, from complications ofAlzheimer's diseaseon 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 withBarbara HarrisandThe Toysoccasionally.
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.