Monday 17 December 2012

Spade Cooley born 17 December 1910


Donnell Clyde Cooley (December 17, 1910–November 23, 1969), better known as Spade Cooley, was an American Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. His career ended in 1961 when he was arrested and convicted for the murder of his second wife, Ella Mae Evans.

A musician and actor whose often sordid private life tended to overshadow his career as an entertainer, Spade Cooley was the self-proclaimed King of Western Swing, an innovator who at his peak led the largest band ever assembled in the annals
of country music. The product of a multi-generational family of fiddle players, Donnell Clyde Cooley was born in Oklahoma in 1910, and at the age of four, his family moved to Oregon.

Despite his impoverished background, Cooley was a classically trained fiddler, and by the time he was eight years old, he was performing professionally at square dances with his father John. In 1930, Cooley (who received his nickname thanks to his poker skills) moved to Los Angeles, playing with a number of western-oriented acts. By the mid-'30s, he was working as an actor, with bit parts in several Westerns; for Republic Studios, he
served as Roy Rogers' stand-in. He also toured with Rogers as a fiddle player, and handled vocal duties with the Riders of the Purple Sage.

Cooley did not begin a recording career until 1941, when he entered the studio while a member of Cal Shrum's band. A year later, he took control of bandleader Jimmy Wakely's group, the house band at Santa Monica, CA's Venice Pier Ballroom, and their Western swing music began attracting thousands of fans each Saturday night. The densely populated band, home to as many as three vocalists and fiddlers at a time, featured singer Tex Williams and guitarists Joaquin Murphey and John O. Weis. In 1945, Spade Cooley & His Orchestra's first single, "Shame on You," lasted nine weeks atop Billboard's country charts. The first in an unbroken string of six Top Ten singles (including "Detour" and "You Can't Break My Heart"), "Shame on You" would remain Cooley's theme song for years to come.




                                

Also in 1945, he married his second wife, Orchestra backup singer Ella Mae Evans. Ultimately, the Orchestra's success led to the dissolution of its most popular lineup; by 1946, Williams, the vocalist on all of the group's hits, was demanding more money, and Cooley refused to pay it. As a result, Williams quit, taking much of the Orchestra with him to form the Western Caravan. In 1947, Cooley began a career in television, hosting a program in Los Angeles titled The Hoffman Hayride. The show's popularity grew quickly, and within months an estimated 75 percent of all televisions in the L.A. area tuned into the show each Saturday night. He also resumed his film career, this time with much higher visibility; in addition to significant roles in a number of Westerns, he also starred in two 1949 short subjects, King of Western Swing and Spade Cooley & His Orchestra.

Throughout the early '50s, Cooley continued to record, but the group's popularity waned as public tastes changed; after a time, he even fired the Orchestra to replace its members with an all-female band. A heavy drinker, Cooley descended into alcoholism as his career declined, and he suffered a series of minor heart attacks. Furthermore, he was facing financial ruin as a result of problems with a planned water theme park to be located in the Mojave Desert.

In 1961, his wife Ella Mae left him; after an argument on April 3, he stomped her to death while the couple's 14-year-old daughter Melody looked on in horror. The
resulting trial, a media circus during which Cooley suffered another heart attack, culminated in a sentence of life imprisonment. Throughout his term, he was a model prisoner, and thus was allowed to perform at a sheriff's benefit in Oakland, CA, on November 23, 1969. After playing in front of a crowd of over 3,000, Cooley returned to his dressing room, suffered yet another heart attack, and died.

(Info mainly from All Music)

Here's Spade Cooley's band with vocal by Tex Williams and with steel guitarist Joaquin Murphey from the 1945 film Rockin' in the Rockies, with the Three Stooges




4 comments:

Unknown said...

good bios bob

Javier said...

Hi Bob, thanks for your amazing work and your superb blog. I'm a young country music fan from Spain, but have been following this website for many years.

I've been trying to download this Spade Cooley CD, but I can't. Do you know if the link is down? Thanks, greetings!

boppinbob said...

Hello Mr. Unknown.

I couldn't find the album requested. So I have posted this one in it's place.

For “SPADE COOLEY - SHAME ON YOU - SINGLES COLLECTION 1945-1952” go here:

https://krakenfiles.com/view/iTOzqf9Ylv/file.html

Track Listing
1945
1. SHAME ON YOU
2. A PAIR OF BROKEN HEARTS
3. I'VE TAKEN ALL I'M GONNA TAKE FROM YOU
4. FORGIVE ME ONE MORE TIME
1946
5. DETOUR
6. YOU CAN'T BREAK MY HEART
7. CRAZY 'CAUSE I LOVE YOU
8. THREE WAY BOOGIE
1947
9. OKLAHOMA STOMP
10. YOU BETTER DO IT NOW
11. IT'S DARK OUTSIDE
12. MINUET IN SWING
13. YOU NEVER MISS THE WATER (Till The Well Runs Dry)
14. SPADELLA
15. COW BELL POLKA
16. TROUBLED OVER YOU
1948
17. STEEL GUITAR RAG
18. I GUESS I'VE BEEN DREAMING AGAIN
19. BIG CHIEF BOOGIE
20. TOPEKA POLKA
21. SWINGING THE DEVIL'S DREAM
22. YOU'LL RUE THE DAY
1950
23. WAGON WHEELS
24. THE LAST ROUND UP
1951
25. DOWN YONDER
26. HORSE HAIR BOOGIE
27. CARMEN'S BOOGIE
28. ONE SWEET LETTER FROM YOU


Spade Cooley was for several years one of the biggest stars of the subgenre of Country music called 'Western Swing'. He wasn't the biggest as that accolade belonged to Bob Wills but he got close with a string of exciting performances on singles that rocked before that word was in popular use. This collection of some of his single releases is named after his greatest hit, 'Shame On You'

The recordings, the hits and the jukebox favourites feature other artists who worked through Cooley's band to become stars on their own. Tex Williams being the most famous. These 28 wonderful recordings are amongst his greatest recordings between 1945 and 1952. Although he continued to record his major claim to fame came with his TV and Radio appearances.(Jasmine notes)

Javier said...

Thank you so much for sharing this album. I have it in physical CD format and it's fantastic. I've noticed that you have some interesting albums with down links, so I'll tell you in their respective posts.

Thanks again, Bob! You're awesome!