The Cooke Duet "The Cooke Duet" (1967) (LP)
This first album included a ton of original songs, including "Memories Of The Coal Mine," written by Hubert Cooke based on his own experiences in the mines. He had already left that line of work, however, by the time they recorded this first album and devoted themselves to traveling on the roads, evangelizing through song. The album was later reissued in 1969, still billed as the Cooke Duet.
The Cooke Duet "Striving For That City" (1967) (LP)
The Cooke Duet "The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow" (Rite Record Productions, 1969) (LP)
The Cooke Duet "I'm Heading Home" (Jewel Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty York)
Listed as "The Cooke Duet And Sons" on the inner label, this lineup of the band included Hubert and Jeanette Cooke, with their boys James (on rhythm guitar) and Ronny (piano) along with Junior Boyer playing steel guitar. The songs include a couple by Dotty Rambo, and others by Jimmie Davis, Bill Gaither, Phyllis Sturgill, and others, as well as several public domain tunes with arrangements by the Cooke family.
The Cooke Duet & Sons "I Had A Vision Of Heaven" (Jewel Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty York)
Hubert and Janette Cooke are joined here by their sons, James (on bass) and Ronny (piano).
The Singing Cookes "Stand By Me, Lord" (Jewel Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty York)
The Cooke Duet "God Is Not Dead, He Is Alive" (Rite Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Rusty York)
The Cooke Duet "I'm Moving Up Home Someday" (Artist's Recording And Pressing, Inc., 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Maggard)
Despite the title, the duet is now a trio... Joined by their son, James Cooke on bass and producer Charlie Maggard on autoharp, the Cookes work their way through a new set of contemporary gospel twang. This was recorded locally, at Maggard Studios, in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. As their three sons grew older, the family band steadily expanded, and during the '70s became known as the Singing Cookes.
The (Singing) Cookes "My Lord Will Send A Moses" (Trail Records, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by T. Ralyer & Rick Salyer)
The Singing Cookes "I Know Jesus Will Welcome Me Home" (Jordan Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Dennis Hensley)
The (Singing) Cookes "Beautiful" (Trail Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by T. Ralyer & Rick Salyer)
The (Singing) Cookes "Beautiful" (Trail Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by T. Ralyer & Rick Salyer)
The (Singing) Cookes "My God Knows What I Need" (Artist's Recording Company, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Vic Clay)
The (Singing) Cookes "He's Always There" (Cooke Records/Artist's Recording Company, 1979-?) (LP)
(Produced by Vic Clay & Tom Baker)
The Singing Cookes "Beautiful" (Jordan Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dennis Hensley)
The Cooke Duet "Best Of The Cooke Duet" (Freeland Records, 1994)
The Cooke Duet "Early Cooke Duet" (Freeland, 1998)
The Cooke Duet "Cooke Duet & Son" (Freeland, 1999)
Starting out as "the Cooke Duet," the husband-wife duo of Hubert Cooke (1935-2018) and Jeanette Freeman Cooke (b. 1935) from Wise, Virginia, recorded numerous albums of soulful bluegrass gospel, later bringing their sons into the band, and renaming it the Singing Cookes. Mr. Cooke originally worked as a coal miner but gave up his job in the mid-1960s to evangelize through music. They were often joined by his brother, Jack Cooke, who also played bass for Ralph Stanley; earlier on, the siblings played together as The Cooke Brothers.
