Joe “Peanuts” Cook, Gospel Quartet and Pop Singer, Dies

From Charles Horner’s Classic Urban Harmony Newsletter:

Little Joe Cook, known for his falsetto hits like “Peanuts” with the Philadelphia vocal group the Thrillers, died on April 16, 2014.  Cook was born in South Philly but moved to North Philly as a youngster where he formed the gospel group, the Evening Star Quartet.  The group recorded several outstanding songs including “Say A Prayer For The Boys In Korea”.  By the mid-1950’s Little Joe had moved into secular music, forming and mentoring the group, the Thrillers, with whom he ended up singing lead.  They scored with the song “Peanuts” which propelled Cook to fame.  Joe Cook continued singing for the remainder of his life, mostly in the Boston area.  He made countless recordings for different labels.

For more information on Little Joe Cook, check out Charlie and Pam Horner’s wonderful website, www.classicurbanharmony.net.  Scroll down the left hand side to click on “Groups From Philly’s Francisville” under Articles By Us.