Ethel "Earl-Jean" McCrea is an American pop/R&B singer. She was a member of The Cookies, the only person in both versions of the group, and she had a solo hit with the original version of "I'm Into Somethin' Good".
Her cousin, Darlene McCrea, and the other original Cookies (a group actually first formed in 1954), eventually evolved into Ray Charles' backing group, The Raelettes. In 1961, Earl-Jean McCrea was recruited for a new version of the Cookies. This line-up scored hits with "Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby", and "Chains" (later covered by The Beatles).
In 1964 Earl-Jean left the Cookies and signed for Colpix, recording the Goffin and King song "I'm Into Somethin' Good", which reached number 38 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year in Britain, a cover version by Herman's Hermits topped the charts.
Chris Davies: British and American Hit Singles, Batsford