Roger Cook

Roger Cook is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and one-half of Britain’s most prolific songwriting team with Roger Greenaway. The duo was the first UK songwriting partnership to win on Ivor Novello Award as 'Songwriters of the Year' in two successive years. Cook was born Roger Frederick Cook on August 19. 1940, in Fishponds, Bristol, England. He first found his love for music by singing in his church choir at age eleven and performed in vocal harmony groups throughout his childhood. Cook wrote his first song in 1958, and that same year recorded with the vocal group the Sapphires. The Sapphires disbanded the following year, and Cook joined a group called the Londons, before splitting off with bandmate Jill Stevens to form Jon & Julie in 1962. The duo recorded for Columbia Records before splitting when Stevens became pregnant. Cook spent a year away from music and began performing as a mime, but returned to singing in early 1965 when singer/songwriter Roger Greenaway invited him to join a harmony group called the Kestrels. That same year Greenaway and Cook wrote their first US and UK hit as co-writers with "You've Got Your Troubles", for the English harmony group the Fortunes. The Fortunes released their follow-up hit, another Greenaway and Cook collaboration "This Golden Ring."

Cook and Greenaway throughout the late 60s continued writing for other recording artists, the duo penned the U.S Top Ten Hit “Green Grass” for Gary Lewis & the Playboys and in 1967, wrote the Top Five U.K. hit "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," Gene Pitney. When the Kestrels broke up, Greenaway and Cook Rogers were persuaded in 1965 by the wife of Beatles producer George Martin to record under the names of David & Jonathan. The duo released their first major hit “Michelle” written by the Beatles in 1966. The duo also released one of their own songwriting collaborations “Lovers Of The World Unite” and began to earn recognition across the UK and the US. The singing duo split up in 1968, but Cook and Greenaway continued their songwriting partnership, worked as session singers and also wrote numerous ad jingles most notably for Coca-Cola. In 1969 Roger Cook joined the British six-piece pop group, Blue Mink, sharing lead vocals with Madeline Bell. The group became very popular in the U.K. and often performed Cook and Greenaway songs. Blue Mink earned five U.K. Top 20 hits through 1973, including "Melting Pot," "Good Morning Freedom," "Banner Man," "Stay With Me," and "Randy." Cook also sang backing vocals on some of the earliest recordings by Elton John and continued to record albums as a solo artist, including Study (1970), credited to Roger James Cooke, Meanwhile Back at the World (1972), Minstrel in Flight (1973) and Alright (1976).

After moving to Nashville in 1975, Cook had a second career as the writer of country hits for Crystal Gayle, Don Williams, George Strait, and others. Some of his country hits include Talking In Your Sleep, I Believe In You, One Night At A Time, and more. Cook also co-wrote I Just Want To Dance With You with John Prine, the song remained at the number 1 spot for three weeks and was nominated for the prestigious CMA Single of the Year and Song of the Year awards Cook also pursued musical endeavors outside songwriting. In 1977 he produced The Nashville Album, a record by Chip Hawkes, and also opened a publishing company with songwriter Ralph Murphy named Pic-A-Lic. He even took a hand at stage writing and has worked on two musicals, Beautiful and Damned, and Don't You Rock Me Daddio. In 1997, Cook became the first (and so far only) British songwriter to enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, later that year, he returned to writing, collaborating with Eddie Kilgallon on George Strait's number-one smash "One Night at a Time."

Roger Cook is recognized as one of the world’s greatest modern songwriters. During his lengthy international songwriting career, he had more than 80 top 30 hits, including classics like Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart, Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress, and You’ve Got Your Troubles. However, Roger is perhaps best known for his song I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing, which became the theme song for a long-running series of Coca-Cola commercials.