Little Eva

The Cookies

This could easily be the end of the article, as I've managed to give you the girl groups' story in a nutshell. But as so many do when they document the sixties, only the most successful artists are remembered. Though there were well over 15,000 girl group records released during the sixties, there was just no room in the charts for every one. For every girl group hit, a bulk of worthy material was being recorded, released, and then trashed before most people even had a chance to listen. So rather than end the article here, I'll leave this as the mere introduction, and spend the subsequent pages exploring the minor players of the girl group era.

No one could doubt Don Kirshner's knack for finding talent when he employed Gerry Goffin and Carole King to be the chief songwriters for Dimension Records. With hits like the Drifters' "Up On The Roof" and the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" already behind them, Kirshner was well aware that this team would deliver the material the kids wanted to hear.

The story of Eva Narcissus Boyd begins almost like a fairy tale. Though she never made it as big as the Crystals or the Supremes, Eva was no chart failure! Gerry Goffin and Carole King (who were married with children at this point) were working on new material in their New Jersey home when they noticed their babysitter hopping along to their tune. Story has it that Gerry commented about her peculiar style of dancing, saying that it resembled a locomotive train. Her new dance style was so inspiring to the couple that they brought her to New York to record their new demo. "The Locomotion" was recorded, cut, and pressed with the name Little Eva printed on the label. This new "Locomotion" dance craze caught on like wildfire and Little Eva became an overnight success. "The Locomotion" stayed in the top ten for two months! Though the record would be Little Eva's only big hit, she carried on with Goffin/King and recorded fab contributions to the girl group sound like "Let's Turkey Trot," "The Trouble With Boys," and "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby."

Although Little Eva had become Dimension's hitmaker, it was the Cookies who were the real darlings of the label. It is difficult to fathom that a girl group with so much potential never managed a top ten hit. Dorothy Jones, Earl-Jean McCrea and Margaret Ross were THE session singers on the New York scene. They backed up Neil Sedaka, Tony Orlando, Ben E. King and Little Eva, amongst others. The Cookies had been a group since the early fifties, but it wasn't until they joined the Dimension Records roster that they emerged as a top-notch girl group. Their first Goffin/King release, "Chains," reached #17 on the charts, but didn't stay there for long (the song was later revived by the Beatles). "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" was the Cookies at their finest. Earl-Jean takes on the lead vocals AND any girl caught puttin' down her boy. "He good, he's good to me, so you better shut your mouth!" Nothing like a good catfight. The Cookies released five singles on Dimension, not only benefiting from the Goffin/King team, but also from prominent songwriters like Toni Wine, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Russ Titelman.

Dear Russ Titelman - now what would the girls have done without him? Girl group record collectors almost always include a Russ Titelman track in their top ten list. Titelman continues to work in the music industry and admits to never liking any of the girl group songs he composed. Whatever opinions he may have of his own material, I think many would agree that most of Titelman's compositions are magnificent. While on the topic of Russ Titelman, it would be a shame to forget to mention the Cookies' last release for Dimension. "I Never Dreamed," a collaborative effort between Russ Titelman and Gerry Goffin, just radiates gorgeous girl group melodies. If only all girl group records sounded this good.