The Cookies: The Complete Cookies (1994)...plus

Formed in 1954 in Brooklyn, New York, The Cookies' membership originally consisted of Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea and Dorothy's cousin, Beulah Roberton. Robertson was replaced in 1956 by Margie Hendricks. The group was introduced to Ray Charles through their session work for Atlantic Records. After backing him and other Atlantic Records artists, McCrea and Hendricks helped form The Raelettes in 1958. 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. This trio had the greatest success under their own name, as backing vocals for other artists, and recording demos for Aldon Music, under the direction of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. In recent years, Goffin and King have both criticized the group for its "soft" sound, but this overlooks the sultriness of their singing, with a sharp arrangement, as on the 1962 singles ‘Chains,’ which hit number 17 on the pop charts in the fall of 1962, ‘Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys’ (number 33 in early 1963), and ‘Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby’ (number 7 in early 1963), the combination was unbeatable. Even their lesser material, such as the rather prosaic rendition of ‘On Broadway,’ is pleasant, and a few songs, such as ‘I Never Dreamed,’ have a soaring, ethereal quality that's a joy to hear, even 45 years later. In point of fact, the Cookies did have a more lyrical sound and less of the hard, soulful feel most of the black girl groups of the period had. They could have sounded more "white" than many Motown groups of the same period, but it wasn't a sound that could compete and, absent the most solid songs, the trio had run out their string by 1964. Included in this collection are all the aforementioned hits, plus four "bonus" tracks featuring solo recordings by Earl-Jean, made in the summer of 1964 after the group broke up, including ‘I'm Into Something Good,’ which she actually recorded and released before Herman's Hermits. I also included some side projects issued under the names The Cinderellas, The Palisades and The Honey Bees, plus one cut by Darlene McCrea: 24 tracks in all. http://www.allmusic.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/