the lyrics to the bridge define low self-esteem, though
From the often very good History of Rock and Roll site, a judgment I agree with:
One of the impressive things about the Cookies was that each girl was a potential lead singer, and in combination, their voices blended beautifully. Often on the Dimension records, the vocals would be shared by all three girls, sometimes underpinned by a trademark interjection from Earl-Jean, e.g "so girl you better shut your mouth", "thirty-six; twenty-one; thirty-fiiiiive" (name those tunes!) Sometimes however, one particular girl would get a lead to herself. Dorothy, for example was practically solo on "Stranger In My Arms", the flip of "Chains" - it was very similar to her Columbia 45, and could well have been done at the same session. Margaret was the main voice on "Softly In The Night" - she also got the lead on "Only To Other People" and what is for many the ultimate Cookies track, "I Never Dreamed". (The Sequel "Complete Cookies" compilation incorrectly credits Dorothy as lead on these tracks) Earl-Jean of course did her own thing on Colpix, but always remained a Cookie. If you want to hear and compare each girl individually, look no further than their original version of "On Broadway", where each girl takes one line at a time in the verses - first Earl-Jean, then Dorothy, then Margaret. Towards the end of their stay at Dimension, it seemed that Margaret was increasingly the preferred vocalist. Margaret had an identifiable trademark sob in her voice that added a sincerity to any song she graced. Witness the impressive list of girl-group classics that she led:- "I Never Dreamed", "Please Don't Wake Me", "Baby Baby I Still Love You", "Make The Night A Little Longer", "One Wonderful Night". Margaret Ross is surely one of the unheralded greats, and yet she was probably the least recognized of the trio, her name never having appeared solo on a label.
Emphasis mine. One might the same for a few dozen female performers, of course. But judge for yourself. And check out that lovely guitar figure.
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