The Honey Bees

L-R: Barbara Alston,  Dorothy Jones, Earl-Jean McCrea, Mary Thomas,   
The Honey Bees were simply a combination of singers from two groups The Crystals (Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas)  and the Cookies (Dorothy Jones and Earl-Jean McCrea).

Members:
     Barbara Alston
     Margaret Ross
     Dorothy Jones
     Earl-Jean McCrea aka Ethel "Earl Jean" McCrea

Of all Girl Groups that were quite thoroughly the same group of women, The Cookies had the most diverse set of nam es (The Palisades, the Stepping Stones, The Cinderellas and the Honey Bees). One has to wonder what the reasoning was, given that they had 3 Tp 40 hits under their most consistent name.

But as one of those in-demand session singing groups of The Brill Building, time in the spotlight was pretty limited for them, despite their own talents as singers. The group had roots in 1954, when Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea and Beulah Robertson formed the group. Their tradition of being more in a support role happened as Robertson left, and was replaced by Margie Hendrix, and the group caught the eye of Ray Charles, seeking to sweeten his sound with audio dessert. More than half the original line up went on to be Raelettes, with Dorothy sticking it out and recruiting Darlene’s sister Ethel "Earl-Jean" and Margaret Ross to reform the group as session singers in 1961.

The Honey Bees recorded several sides in the early to mid sixties on a variety of different labels, and although each record ws above average, none ever really hit big. "She Don’t Deserve You," b/w "One Wonderful Night," was released on Fontana in early 1964..

Lesley Gore had a hit with "She’s A Fool," a song which strongly borrowed its lyrics from "She Don’t Deserve You," but that didn’t help the Honeybees. After a stint on Vee Jay Records, "No Guy," the group was lost in the shuffle.

The Cookies Dorothy Thomas and Earl-Jean McCrea along with The Crystals Barbara Alston and Dorothy Jones, recorded the Honey Bees most famous single. Other groups of Honey Bees used the name for different labels which had no connection to Goffin and the gang.