| Cooke Duet, The - The Cooke DuetCountry-Gospel | Virginia | 1967
From the Singing Cookes website (singingcookes.com):
"As with everything, there is always a story behind the formation of a group, and yes, the Singing Cookes have their own story. It all started back in 1962 with two guitars, a dream, and a lot of faith. Hubert, who had been a Virginia coal miner for 16 years, decided to leave his job and start working for the Lord. Hubert had been reared around music all his life--namely bluegrass. He was once even in a bluegrass group called The Ramblin Mountain Boys. His wife Jeanette had always been in church. She was the daughter of Rev. Gordon Freeman, so she would often attend revivals with her father to help him out by playing the guitar and singing. With the ending of Hubert's coal mining, a couple of guitars, and the start of something new, The Singing Cookes were formed; although, at that time they called themselves the Cooke Duet.
The Cooke Duet traveled from place to place singing and becoming more and more popular. Then James, the oldest son, decided that he wanted to join the group, so he began to play the bass guitar. It wasn't until the group recorded the 9th album that James started singing. Ronny, the keyboardist, and Donny, the drummer, joined the group, respectively, around the age of fourteen. Now, since the whole family had joined in, Hubert and Jeanette decided that they needed to change the name to The Singing Cookes.
The Cookes became very successful with their first national release, "He Rows Me over the Tide." They continued to be successful with hits such as "Moses," climbing to #3 in the Southern Gospel Charts, "Earth's Loss is Heaven's Gain," which went to #10, and "I Hope We Walk the Last Mile Together," which reached #14. The project that included both "Earth's Loss is Heaven's Gain," and "I Hope We Walk the Last Mile Together," reached #1 in the Gospel Voice Distributors Top Sales Chart, in the early spring of 1994. Most of all, though, the Cookes were ministering to souls, and seeing people give their lives to Jesus Christ.
After playing for mom and dad for many years, James, Ronny, and Donny found that the Lord was calling them to sing. The boys formed their own group called, The Cooke Brothers. They are a dynamic trio with that great harmony that can only be found with brothers. They, too, have been successful with fan-favorites like "Chiseled in Stone" and "Go Rest High on that Mountain." The Cooke Brothers still travel with mom and dad, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
The Singing Cookes and The Cooke Brothers now travel all over the nation ministering to souls and have even performed concerts in Canada and the British Virgin Islands. They have met thousands of people, seen thousands of souls accept the Lord into their lives, and have enjoyed every moment of it. They truly are a family group and are very dedicated to their purpose--the spreading of the Gospel."
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