[3][4] By the time he was 12, he and three cousins had formed a gospel vocal quartet, the Evening Stars, who had a one-hour weekly radio show in Philadelphia.
[3] He formed a new doo-wop vocal group, the Thrillers, with Farrie Hill (second lead), Richard Frazier (tenor), Donald Burnett (baritone), and Henry Pascal (bass).
They won a contract with OKeh Records in 1956, and their first single, "Do the Slop", was a regional hit in Philadelphia and New York City.
Cook's falsetto singing style was reportedly an influence on singers Frankie Valli, who recorded "Peanuts" with The Four Seasons, and on Lou Christie.
[3] He also formed a group, The Sherrys, with his daughters, Delthine and Dinell Cook and their friends Charlotte Butler and Delores "Honey" Wylie.
[3] Cook became a local icon in Central Square (Cambridge) and he often he parked his yellow '70s Cadillac Seville on Mass Ave with an archetypal gold peanut hood ornament and the vanity plate "Nut Man".