Little Joe Cook, the high tenor/falsetto lead of the Thrillers, died of cancer on April 15 in Framingham, MA at the age of 91. He was born in South Philadelphia on December 29, 1922. His mother, Annie Bell, was a blues singer. His nickname can be attributed to the fact that he was 5' 4" tall. As a teenager, he formed a gospel group with his cousins. They recorded as the Evening Star Quartet for Gotham and Apex in the late '40s and early '50s, and had a minor hit, "Say a Prayer for the Boys in Korea," in 1951. He was acquainted with fellow Philadelphian Billy Ward, and it is rumored that he was considered as Clyde McPhatter's replacement in the Dominoes, but the job went to Jackie Wilson.
In 1956, he formed an R&B group, Little Joe and the Thrillers, that included Farris Hill, second tenor; Richard Frazier, tenor; Donald Burnette, baritone; and Harry Pascie, bass. They are unrelated to the Thrillers that recorded for Herald in 1954. Their first release for OKeh, "Let's Do the Slop," was moderately successful, but their second, "Peanuts," was a smash in the Northeast and reached #22 on the national pop chart.
"Peanuts" was released at a time when kiddie leads were popular, following the success of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Most people assumed that Little Joe was a teenager, but he was actually 35 at the time. He explains the origin of the song in the interview below. He cashed in when it was used in a Skippy peanut butter commercial.
The group had eight more releases for OKeh, but were unable to repeat their initial success. Joe recorded steadily through the early '70s, both with reformed Thrillers groups and as Little Joe Cook. For the most part, he dropped the falsetto and sang in the soul style that was popular at the time. Here's a song he recorded for Bobby Robinson's Fury label in 1962.
Joe Cook settled in the Boston area in the late '60s and had a regular gig at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge from 1980 until he retired in 2007. He released three CDs on the Beantown label, the last in 2003. Here is a brief TV interview he did on his 90th birthday.
Joe "Speedo" Frazier (1943-2014)
Joe "Speedo" Frazier, lead singer of the Impalas, died on April 1 at the age of 70. Not much is known about his life. He was born in New York City on September 5, 1943. The Impalas were a street corner group from Brooklyn formed in 1958. Frazier was the only black member. The others were Tony Carlucci, first tenor; Lenny Renda, second tenor; and Richard Wagner, baritone.
Their first record, "First Date" on the Hamilton label, went nowhere, but they came to the attention of Alan Freed, who arranged an audition with Cub Records, an M-G-M subsidiary. Their first Cub release, "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)," peaked at #14 on the R&B charts and #2 on the pop charts in 1959. However, the followup, "Oh, What a Fool," only reached #86.
After two more singles and an album, Cub dropped them. Following one release on 20th Century in 1961, they faded from sight.
Joe Frazier sang with Love's Own in 1973. In the '80s, he reformed the Impalas and performed in oldies shows. Here they are singing their signature tune at one of T. J. Lubinski's Pittsburgh shows.
The Impalas had one release on Ronnie Italiano's UGHA label in 1982 that was arguably better than anything they recorded in the '50s.
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