Little Joe & The Thrillers

This R&B vocal group came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The group was formed in 1956 by Joe Cook (b. 29 December 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), who had made his first record in 1949 as lead of a gospel group, the Joe Cook Quartet. While recording as a member of a later gospel group, the Evening Star Quartet, Cook formed the Thrillers, which besides Cook comprised Farris Hill (tenor), Richard Frazier (tenor), Donald Burnett (baritone) and Harry Pascle (bass). Their only real claim to fame was ‘Peanuts’, which entered the US Top 30 in 1957 on the OKeh label. Cook’s piercing falsetto lead became the standard for many R&B doo-wop groups from the late 50s through the 70s. The first release by the group was a dance number called ‘The Slop’, which achieved some local east coast recognition in 1956. The Thrillers never hit the charts after ‘Peanuts’ and they broke up, Little Joe continued recording up to 1966 on various small Philadelphia labels. In 1964, Cook organized an all-girl group, the Sherrys, two of whom were his daughters, and enjoyed a Top 40 hit with ‘Pop Pop Pop-Pie’.