Betsy Cook
Encyclopedia
Betsy Cook is an American
-born singer, songwriter and musician. Since the late 1970s, she has worked mainly in the United Kingdom
and collaborated with various British
artists such as Gerry Rafferty
, George Michael
, Paul Young
, Seal
and Marc Almond
. She later became affiliated with the acclaimed producer
Trevor Horn
and worked on several of his projects in the late 1980s and early 1990s before releasing her own album, The Girl Who Ate Herself
, in 1992. As a songwriter, Cook was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 1988 for the song "Telling Me Lies
".
, providing backing vocals on his 1979 album Night Owl
. The album was produced by the London-born producer Hugh Murphy, whom Cook married. The album also featured contributions from Richard Thompson and his wife Linda Thompson
, whom Cook would begin a working relationship with. The same year, she also worked on albums by Mike Heron
and the singer/comedian Richard Digance
. Cook would work with Rafferty again as a backing vocalist on his 1980 album Snakes and Ladders
, again produced by Hugh Murphy.
In 1981, Cook worked as a session musician for Bonnie Tyler
, Sally Oldfield
, and also for Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady
, playing various keyboard instruments on his album Hard Station
, which was also produced by Hugh Murphy. Cook would work with Brady again on his 1983 album True for You
, on his 1984 live album Full Moon
and again on his 1991 album Trick or Treat
.
Cook and Linda Thompson began writing songs together in the 1980s, and Thompson's 1985 solo album One Clear Moment contained eight tracks that were written by or co-written with Cook.
Cook also began recording her own material in 1984-85 when she co-produced the tracks "Nothing Ventured" and "Wonderland" with husband Hugh Murphy at the UK's Birdland Studios. Although without her own recording deal at the time, "Wonderland" was later covered by the British singer Paul Young
for his 1986 album Between Two Fires which Cook worked on as a backing vocalist. The track was released as the first single from the album and reached the UK Top 30.
Also in 1986, Cook began what would be a longterm working relationship with producer Trevor Horn
and his associate Stephen Lipson
by providing backing vocals on the second Frankie Goes To Hollywood
album Liverpool
.
Cook then collaborated with George Michael
by playing keyboards on his hugely successful debut solo album Faith
, which was released in 1987.
In 1988, Cook appeared with Linda Thompson at the Grammy Awards performing the song "Telling Me Lies
" which was originally written by them for Thompson's 1985 album One Clear Moment. The song had been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song
after it had been covered by Linda Rondstadt, Dolly Parton
and Emmylou Harris
collectively for their platinum-selling album Trio
in 1987. The "Trio" version of the song had already been a Top 3 hit on the Billboard Country Singles Chart
.
In 1988, Cook once again worked with Gerry Rafferty, playing electric piano on his album North and South
. She also returned to working with Horn and Lipson the same year when she worked as a session musician on Laughter, Tears and Rage
, the debut album by Act
.
Cook later worked with the singer Marc Almond
, providing keyboards and backing vocals on his 1990 album Enchanted
. She would work with Almond again on his 1991 album Tenement Symphony
, produced by Trevor Horn.
By this time, Cook had begun working on her own album of material that Horn, Lipson and Bruce Woolley
were co-producing with her. Ian Stanley
(formerly of the band Tears For Fears
and now a successful producer himself) was also enlisted. The resulting album, The Girl Who Ate Herself
, was released in 1992, preceded by the 1991 single "Love Is The Groove
". The two tracks that Cook had recorded in the mid 1980s with husband Hugh Murphy ("Nothing Ventured" and "Wonderland") were also included, although additional production and instrumentation were added to the final versions on the album. Further singles "How Can I Believe?" and "Docklands" were released from the album.
Cook continued to work with Horn and his associates, and was a session musician on Seal's 1994 album
which Horn produced. She also co-wrote the track "Storm", which was recorded by Grace Jones
and was co-written and co-produced by Bruce Woolley for the soundtrack album to the 1998 film version of The Avengers.
Previously unreleased material that Cook had co-written and recorded with Linda Thompson in the 1980s was released on Thompson's 1996 collection Dreams Fly Away - A History of Linda Thompson and on her 2001 collection Give Me A Sad Song.
"Telling Me Lies
", which Cook co-wrote with Linda Thompson for Thompson's 1985 album One Clear Moment, was covered by Linda Rondstadt, Dolly Parton
and Emmylou Harris
for their platinum-selling album Trio
in 1987. The song reached #3 on the US Billboard Country Singles Chart
and was also nominated for a Grammy Award
for Best Country Song in 1988.
"Insult To Injury", which Cook also co-wrote with Linda Thompson was later covered by Fairport Convention
(featuring Thompson's ex husband Richard Thompson) at their 25th Anniversary concert which was released on record and video in 1994.
"Love Is The Groove
", which was Cook's first single in 1991 and written by herself and Bruce Woolley, was covered by Cher
on her 1998 album Believe.
"Cry Of A Waking Heart", which was also co-written by Cook with Bruce Woolley, was recorded by Donna Summer
for her 1991 album Mistaken Identity
.
"Docklands" (written by Cook and Trevor Horn and originally released on Cook's 1992 album) was covered by Stevie Nicks
for her 1994 album Street Angel
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-born singer, songwriter and musician. Since the late 1970s, she has worked mainly in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and collaborated with various British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artists such as Gerry Rafferty
Gerry Rafferty
Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Paul Young
Paul Young
Paul Antony Young is an English pop musician. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, his following solo success as a solo recording artist turned him into a 1980s teenage pop idol...
, Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
and Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
. She later became affiliated with the acclaimed producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
and worked on several of his projects in the late 1980s and early 1990s before releasing her own album, The Girl Who Ate Herself
The Girl Who Ate Herself
The Girl Who Ate Herself is the debut album by the American-born singer-songwriter Betsy Cook. It was released in 1992 by EastWest Records.-Background:...
, in 1992. As a songwriter, Cook was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1988 for the song "Telling Me Lies
Telling Me Lies
"Telling Me Lies" was a song written by Linda Thompson and Betsy Cook, that was included on Thompson's 1985 One Clear Moment album...
".
Career
Cook worked for many years as a session musician and backing vocalist for a variety of artists. Her earliest work was with Gerry RaffertyGerry Rafferty
Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
, providing backing vocals on his 1979 album Night Owl
Night Owl (album)
Night Owl is a 1979 album by Gerry Rafferty. It was released a year after Rafferty's Platinum-selling album City to City. While not quite performing as well as its predecessor, Night Owl still managed enough sales to achieve Gold status in North America and the United Kingdom. The title song...
. The album was produced by the London-born producer Hugh Murphy, whom Cook married. The album also featured contributions from Richard Thompson and his wife Linda Thompson
Linda Thompson (singer)
Linda Thompson is a British singer. Born Linda Pettifer in Hackney, Thompson became one of the most recognised names—and voices—in the British folk rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s, in collaboration with her former husband and fellow British folk rock musician, guitarist Richard...
, whom Cook would begin a working relationship with. The same year, she also worked on albums by Mike Heron
Mike Heron
Mike Heron is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
and the singer/comedian Richard Digance
Richard Digance
Richard Digance is a comedian and folk singer.- Biography :He studied Mechanical Engineering at Reid Kerr College Paisley, during which time he was inspired by Billy Connolly....
. Cook would work with Rafferty again as a backing vocalist on his 1980 album Snakes and Ladders
Snakes and Ladders (Gerry Rafferty album)
Snakes and Ladders is the fourth album by Gerry Rafferty. It was released in 1980, following the success of his previous two albums, City to City and Night Owl. The album charted at #15 in the UK but only reached #61 in the US. The album was released on CD in 1998 [EMI 7 46609-2] but deleted soon...
, again produced by Hugh Murphy.
In 1981, Cook worked as a session musician for Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
, Sally Oldfield
Sally Oldfield
Sally Oldfield is a singer-songwriter, and the sister of the composers Mike Oldfield and Terry Oldfield.-Early life:...
, and also for Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
, playing various keyboard instruments on his album Hard Station
Hard Station
Hard Station is a 1981 album by Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, his second solo album....
, which was also produced by Hugh Murphy. Cook would work with Brady again on his 1983 album True for You
True for You
True For You is a 1983 album by Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, his third solo album.-Side one:#"The Great Pretender" - 4:58#"Let It Happen" - 4:32#"Helpless Heart" - 4:27#"Dance the Romance" - 5:05-Side two:#"Steel Claw" - 4:03...
, on his 1984 live album Full Moon
Full Moon (Paul Brady album)
Full Moon is a 1986 album by Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, his first live album.-Track listing:#Hard Station#Not The Only One#Take Me Away#Busted Loose#Dance The Romance#Crazy Dreams#Helpless Heart#Steel Claw...
and again on his 1991 album Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat (Paul Brady album)
Trick or Treat is a 1991 album by Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, his sixth solo album.-Track listing:#Soul Child - 5:41#Blue World - 5:36#Nobody Knows - 4:43#Can't Stop Wanting You - 4:59#You and I - 4:35#Trick or Treat - 5:03...
.
Cook and Linda Thompson began writing songs together in the 1980s, and Thompson's 1985 solo album One Clear Moment contained eight tracks that were written by or co-written with Cook.
Cook also began recording her own material in 1984-85 when she co-produced the tracks "Nothing Ventured" and "Wonderland" with husband Hugh Murphy at the UK's Birdland Studios. Although without her own recording deal at the time, "Wonderland" was later covered by the British singer Paul Young
Paul Young (singer and guitarist)
Paul Antony Young is an English pop musician. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, his following solo success as a solo recording artist turned him into a 1980s teenage pop idol...
for his 1986 album Between Two Fires which Cook worked on as a backing vocalist. The track was released as the first single from the album and reached the UK Top 30.
Also in 1986, Cook began what would be a longterm working relationship with producer Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
and his associate Stephen Lipson
Stephen Lipson
Stephen J. Lipson is a musician and producer who has worked with numerous artists, including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Cher, Grace Jones, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Take That, Simple Minds, Lindisfarne, and Annie Lennox....
by providing backing vocals on the second Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
album Liverpool
Liverpool (album)
Liverpool is Frankie Goes to Hollywood's second album, released in October 1986 . It would be the band's final album of all-new material, and lead singer Holly Johnson would leave the band following the corresponding world tour, followed by a flurry of lawsuits from ZTT.The album was a commercial...
.
Cook then collaborated with George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
by playing keyboards on his hugely successful debut solo album Faith
Faith (George Michael album)
Faith is George Michael's first solo album, released in October 1987 via Columbia Records/Epic Records. The album has won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and received diamond certification from...
, which was released in 1987.
In 1988, Cook appeared with Linda Thompson at the Grammy Awards performing the song "Telling Me Lies
Telling Me Lies
"Telling Me Lies" was a song written by Linda Thompson and Betsy Cook, that was included on Thompson's 1985 One Clear Moment album...
" which was originally written by them for Thompson's 1985 album One Clear Moment. The song had been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song
Grammy Award for Best Country Song
The Grammy Award for Best Country Song has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the writer of the song.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
after it had been covered by Linda Rondstadt, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
collectively for their platinum-selling album Trio
Trio (album)
Trio was a collaboration album by three of the most successful American female singers of the 1970s and 1980s, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris...
in 1987. The "Trio" version of the song had already been a Top 3 hit on the Billboard Country Singles Chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
.
In 1988, Cook once again worked with Gerry Rafferty, playing electric piano on his album North and South
North and South (album)
North and South is the sixth studio album by Gerry Rafferty. It was Rafferty's first studio album in six years and reunited him with producer Hugh Murphy. The album got fair reviews from critics and fans. The album was released as an LP and CD in 1988...
. She also returned to working with Horn and Lipson the same year when she worked as a session musician on Laughter, Tears and Rage
Laughter, Tears and Rage
- CD :*UK: ZTT / ZQCD1- Cassette :* UK: ZTT / ZQMC1- CD :* UK: ZTT / ZTT185CD- Box set :* UK: ZTT / ZTT185CDXDisc one: " Laughter, Tears and Rage"Same tracks as 2004 CD.- Personnel :Act...
, the debut album by Act
Act (band)
Act were a short-lived synthpop group signed to ZTT Records in the late 1980s, and comprising Thomas Leer and ex-Propaganda vocalist Claudia Brücken. Besides electro-pop and disco the group were also influenced by psychedelic rock and musical theatre...
.
Cook later worked with the singer Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
, providing keyboards and backing vocals on his 1990 album Enchanted
Enchanted (Marc Almond album)
Enchanted is a 1990 studio album by recording artist Marc Almond, previously a member of synthpop/new wave duo, Soft Cell. The album includes the singles "A Lover Spurned", "The Desperate Hours" and "Waifs and Strays" and was produced by Bob Kraushaar, Gary Maughan and Stephen Hague...
. She would work with Almond again on his 1991 album Tenement Symphony
Tenement Symphony
Tenement Symphony is an album by Marc Almond, released in 1991. It reached #39 in the UK Albums Chart and includes the UK top 40 single "My Hand Over My Heart", top 20 "Jacky",and the top 5 hit "The Days of Pearly Spencer".-Track listing:...
, produced by Trevor Horn.
By this time, Cook had begun working on her own album of material that Horn, Lipson and Bruce Woolley
Bruce Woolley
Bruce Woolley is an English writer, performer, record producer and composer.- Early years :Bruce Woolley was born in Loughborough, England on 11 November 1953 and was educated at Loughborough Grammar School where he learned electric guitar, began to write songs and where he met his future wife,...
were co-producing with her. Ian Stanley
Ian Stanley
Ian Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
(formerly of the band Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
and now a successful producer himself) was also enlisted. The resulting album, The Girl Who Ate Herself
The Girl Who Ate Herself
The Girl Who Ate Herself is the debut album by the American-born singer-songwriter Betsy Cook. It was released in 1992 by EastWest Records.-Background:...
, was released in 1992, preceded by the 1991 single "Love Is The Groove
Love Is The Groove
"Love Is the Groove" is the first single by the singer/songwriter Betsy Cook. Released in 1991 by East West Records, it was the first track to taken from her debut album The Girl Who Ate Herself .-Track listings:...
". The two tracks that Cook had recorded in the mid 1980s with husband Hugh Murphy ("Nothing Ventured" and "Wonderland") were also included, although additional production and instrumentation were added to the final versions on the album. Further singles "How Can I Believe?" and "Docklands" were released from the album.
Cook continued to work with Horn and his associates, and was a session musician on Seal's 1994 album
Seal (1994 album)
Seal is the second self-titled album of singer Seal...
which Horn produced. She also co-wrote the track "Storm", which was recorded by Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
and was co-written and co-produced by Bruce Woolley for the soundtrack album to the 1998 film version of The Avengers.
Previously unreleased material that Cook had co-written and recorded with Linda Thompson in the 1980s was released on Thompson's 1996 collection Dreams Fly Away - A History of Linda Thompson and on her 2001 collection Give Me A Sad Song.
Songwriter
Many of Cook's songs have been covered by other artists:"Telling Me Lies
Telling Me Lies
"Telling Me Lies" was a song written by Linda Thompson and Betsy Cook, that was included on Thompson's 1985 One Clear Moment album...
", which Cook co-wrote with Linda Thompson for Thompson's 1985 album One Clear Moment, was covered by Linda Rondstadt, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
for their platinum-selling album Trio
Trio (album)
Trio was a collaboration album by three of the most successful American female singers of the 1970s and 1980s, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris...
in 1987. The song reached #3 on the US Billboard Country Singles Chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
and was also nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Country Song in 1988.
"Insult To Injury", which Cook also co-wrote with Linda Thompson was later covered by Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
(featuring Thompson's ex husband Richard Thompson) at their 25th Anniversary concert which was released on record and video in 1994.
"Love Is The Groove
Love Is The Groove
"Love Is the Groove" is the first single by the singer/songwriter Betsy Cook. Released in 1991 by East West Records, it was the first track to taken from her debut album The Girl Who Ate Herself .-Track listings:...
", which was Cook's first single in 1991 and written by herself and Bruce Woolley, was covered by Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
on her 1998 album Believe.
"Cry Of A Waking Heart", which was also co-written by Cook with Bruce Woolley, was recorded by Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
for her 1991 album Mistaken Identity
Mistaken Identity (Donna Summer album)
The UK edition of this album contained the "ISA full-length remix" of this track- Personnel :* Donna Summer - vocals, rap vocals, composer* Kaydee - rap vocals, drums, percussion, assorted funkiness, "Intro Madness" on "Mistaken Identity"...
.
"Docklands" (written by Cook and Trevor Horn and originally released on Cook's 1992 album) was covered by Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
for her 1994 album Street Angel
Street Angel (album)
-B-sides:# "Mirror Mirror" – B-side to "Blue Denim" cassette single. Originally recorded for the Rock a Little album in 1984 and later surfaced during sessions for The Other Side of the Mirror in 1989 but was never included...
.