Spade Cooley

Spade Cooley

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Spade Cooley



Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Donnell Clyde Cooley
Alias = King of Western Swing
Born = birth date|1910|12|17|mf=y
Died = death date and age|1969|11|23|1910|12|17|mf=y
Origin = Pack Saddle Creek, Oklahoma
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre = Western Swing
Occupation = Big band leader
Actor
Television personality
Years_active =
Label =
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Donnell Clyde 'Spade' Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American Western Swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. His career ended when he was arrested and convicted for the murder of his second wife, Ella Mae Evans. [http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/spade_cooley/index.html/ Crimelibrary.com] ]

Show business career

Cooley's 18 month engagement at Santa Monica's Venice Pier Ballroom was record breaking for the early half of the 1940s. His "Shame On You," released on Columbia's OKeh label, was recorded in December of 1944, and was No. 1 on the country charts for two months. "Shame on You" was the first in an unbroken string of six Top Ten singles including "Detour" and "You Can't Break My Heart."

Cooley appeared in 38 westerns, both in bit parts and as a stand in for cowboy actor Roy Rogers. He also hosted a Los Angeles based syndicated television show from 1949 until 1959. The Hoffman Hayride was so popular that an estimated 75 percent of all televisions in the L.A. area were tuned into the show each Saturday night. In 1950 Cooley had significant roles in several films, and starred in two film shorts: "King of Western Swing" and "Spade Cooley & His Orchestra."

After a "Battle of the Bands" with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys at the Venice Pier Ballroom, which Cooley won, he began to promote himself as the "King of Western Swing." [Komorowski, "Spade Cooley", p. 4: "It was around this time [1942] that Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys come out West, and when Cooley fell out with Phillips, the promoter sacked him and hired Bob Wills in his place. A cocksure Cooley demanded a 'Battle of The Bands' before he vacated the Venice Pier, and in a contest held over two weekends, emerged the undisputed winner. He promptly proclaimed himself the 'King of Western Swing', the first time the term was used to describe this style of music, and it was one that stuck."] Evidently "Western swing", not used prior to 1942 for this style of music, was a term thought up by Cooley's then promoter, Forman Phillips. [Logsdon, "The Cowboy's Bawdy Music," p.137: "The term 'western swing' was not used until Foreman Phillips, a promoter-disc jockey, used it to describe Spade Cooley in 1942."] Following Waylon Jennings 1975 #1 hit, "Bob Wills Is Still The King," Wills's fans transferred the title "King" to Wills.

Cooley's sound was closer to, and isolated in the style of conventional big band dance-oriented pop orchestras. Where as Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys used far more diverse fusions of multi-genres, through which they popularized, defined, and evolved what is now recognized as true Western Swing. This diversity allowed for Wills to reach wider audiences, as was found in Cain's Ballroom culture. Cooley's specialized, 'city sound' of the period popular culture accounts for his work having been popular with limited mainstream audiences during his 1940s and 1950s heyday, but at the same time not having enjoyed the diverse and continuing popularity of Wills.

Murder of Ella Mae Evans

In 1961, his wife expressed her wish to be divorced, and a drunken Cooley responded by beating her and stomping on her body until she died. During the trial Cooley suffered a heart attack while he was delivered his prison sentence. After serving eight years of his sentence, the state of California gave him a temporary release in order to play a benefit concert for the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Alameda County at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. After the performance, he suffered another heart attack in the backstage area. This time it was fatal.

Discography

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left"! colspan="4"|Top 40 Hits. [Whitburn, "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits", p. 89.]
-!Year!Position!Title!Label
-
1945
1
Shame On You
OKeh 6731
-
1945
8
A Pair Of Broken Hearts
align="center"|"
-
1945
4
I've Taken All I'm Gonna Take From You
OKeh 6746
-
1946
2
Detour
Columbia 36935
-
1946
3
You Can't Break My Heart
align="center"|"
-
1947
4
Crazy 'Cause I Love You
Columbia 37058


In popular culture

John Gilmore has written an indepth portrait of Spade Cooley's life and tragic end in "Shame on You", a segment of Gilmore's nonfiction work, "L.A. Despair". Cooley is also a recurring character in James Ellroy's fiction.

It has been reported that Dennis Quaid plans to make a bio-pic about Cooley.

Spade Cooley is the grandfather of Mike Cooley, singer, guitarist, song writer and founding member of the rock band Drive-By Truckers.

Referenced in one of the classic 39 Honeymooners episodes (from Art 'Ed Norton' Carney to Jackie 'Ralph Kramden' Gleason): "They wouldn't-a won that except some guy slipped in a Spade Cooley record."

References

Bibliography

*Logsdon, Guy. "The Cowboy's Bawdy Music." "The Cowboy: Six-Shooters, Songs, and Sex" (pp. 139-138) edited by Charles W. Harris and Buck Rainey. University of Oklahoma Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8061-1341-3
*Komorowski, Adam. "Spade Cooley: Swingin' The Devil's Dream". (Proper PVCD 127, 2003) booklet.
*Whitburn, Joel. "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits". Billboard Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8230-8291-1

External links

* [http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/cooley_spade/bio.jhtml Spade Cooley Biography at CMT.com]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:50d2vwvva9xk~T1 All Music Guide]
*
* [http://www.shanatinglipton.com/cooley1.html A Swing King Reemerges, LA Times article]
* [http://perso.orange.fr/rockin.paul/Spade%20Cooley.htm Complete Discography]
* [http://www.johngilmore.com/Books/preview_spade_cooley.html Shame on You]
* [http://destinyland.mondoglobo.net/2006/10/07/the-lone-ranger-vs-spade-cooley/ Podcast - the life of Spade Cooley (with song samples)]
* [http://www.bakersfield.com/static/FP/baksound/spade.htm Spade Cooley at Bakersfield Sound]
* [http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/cooley.htm Space Cooley at B-Westerns]
* [http://www.bloodee.com/RealHorror/Spade-Cooleyrich-famous--murderer/ Spade Cooley... rich, famous and a murderer]
*

Persondata
NAME= Cooley, Spade
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Cooley, Donnell Clyde
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Big band leader, Actor, Television personality
DATE OF BIRTH= December 17, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH= Pack Saddle Creek, Oklahoma
DATE OF DEATH= November 23, 1969
PLACE OF DEATH=


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Spade Cooley — Nombre real Donnell Clyde Cooley Nacimiento 17 de diciembre de 1910 Oklahoma, Estados Unidos Fallecimiento 23 de noviembre de 1969 Oakland (California), Estados Unidos Otros nombres …   Wikipedia Español

  • Spade Cooley — (* 17. Dezember 1910 als Donnell Clyde Cooley in Grand, Oklahoma; † 23. November 1969 in Vacaville, Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Country Musiker, Bandleader und Schauspieler. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Anfänge 2 Karriere …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Spade Cooley's Western Swing Song Folio — Infobox Book name = Spade Cooley s Western Swing Song Folio image caption = Folio cover. author = Donnell C. Spade Cooley illustrator = cover artist = country = Unted States language = English series = subject = genre = Song book publisher = Hill …   Wikipedia

  • Cooley — is a surname of Irish origin. It refers to: Contents 1 Persons 2 Place names 3 Other 4 See also Persons Charles Cool …   Wikipedia

  • Cooley — ist ein Name irischen Ursprungs. Personen: Charles Cooley (1864–1929), US amerikanischer Soziologe Chris Cooley (* 1982), US amerikanischer Footballer Dennis Cooley (* 1944), kanadischer Dichter, Professor der University of Manitoba Denton Cooley …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Shame On You (Cooley song) — Infobox Standard title= Shame On You comment= image size= caption= writer=Spade Cooley composer= lyricist= published= written= language=English form=Western swing original artist=Spade Cooley amp; His Western Band recorded by= (many other… …   Wikipedia

  • Talmage Cooley — Talmage Newman Cooley (born February 22, 1965 in Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American filmmaker and social activist.After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1988 with degrees in International Politics and Finance, Cooley moved to… …   Wikipedia

  • Western swing — Stylistic origins Western blues folk swing Dixieland jazz Cultural origins 1920s and 1930s; small towns in the US Southwest Typical instruments guitar • piano • drums • vocals • …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Coo–Coq — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Country-Musik 1945 — Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Ereignisse 2 Top Hits des Jahres 2.1 Nummer 1 Hits 2.2 Weitere Hits 3 Geboren 4 Gestorben …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”