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Biography

The group included the Cooper sisters, Janette, Debbie, Tina and Angie. They raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and They started singing in church in the early 1960's as The Little Cooperettes. They shortened their name to The Cooperettes when they switched to R&B. The girls were managed by their mother Ethyl Cooper who arranged a recording contract with Brunswick Records. Their first single “Goodbye School” was a big seller in Philadelphia in 1966.

Their second 45 “Everything’s Wrong”, released in 1967, was also a local hit in Philly. This song is a great, mid-tempo dancer, with a Shirelles feel to it (interesting since the tune was co-written by Wes Farrell, who penned “Boys”’ for that group).

They traveled all over the USA and did shows in Europe too. Black Soul Radio Pioneer Sonny Hopson got the group a deal with ABC Records with the Morris Bailey song “Trouble.” The sisters also backed up Benny Sigler, Timmy Carr and others. The group disbanded in the early 1970’s. The Cooperettes had a second wave of popularity with the Northern Soul scene, when “Shing-A-Ling” was reissued in the UK in 1975. Debbie Cooper died in 1989 and Ethyl Cooper passed away in 1998.

Cooperettes

Group members:

Angie Cooper
Debbie Cooper
Janette Cooper
Tina Cooper

Their ‘Shing-a-ling’ (also known in the unissued verion by Irma and the Fascinators as ‘You Need Love’) was one of the first big Northern 45s I tracked down back in the day, and it remains a favorite.

The group included the Cooper sisters, Janette, Debbie, Tina and Angie, and released a half dozen 45s between 1966 and 1969 for labels like Brunswick, ABC and IDB.

‘Everything’s Wrong’ was their second 45, released in early 1967 and was a minor local hit in Philadelphia.

A great, mid-tempo dancer, with a Shirelles feel to it (interesting since the tune was co-written by Wes Farrell, who penned ‘Boys’ for that group), ‘Everything’s Wrong’ is yet another one of those records that should have been a hit, but got lost in the pop tidal wave of 1967.

The Cooperettes had a second wave of popularity with the Northern Soul scene, when ‘Shing-a-ling’ was reissued in the UK in 1975.

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