Spade Cooley
| Spade Cooley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Donnell Clyde Cooley |
| Also known as | King of Western Swing |
| Born |
December 17, 1910 Grand, Oklahoma United States |
| Died | November 23, 1969 (aged 58) Oakland, California United States |
| Genres | Western swing |
| Occupation(s) | Big band leader, actor, television personality |
| Instruments | Fiddle |
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.
"Spade" Cooley was born Donnell Clyde Cooley on December 17, 1910, in Grand, Oklahoma. Being part Cherokee, he was sent to the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon to be educated. In 1930 his family fled the Dust Bowl for California.
One of the groups that played at the Venice Pier Ballroom in Venice, California, was led by Jimmy Wakely with Spade Cooley on fiddle. Several thousand dancers would turn out on Saturday night to swing and hop. "The hoards (sic) of people and jitterbuggers loved him." When Wakely got a movie contract at Universal, Cooley replaced him as bandleader.
To capitalize on the pioneering success of the Bob Wills–Tommy Duncan pairing, Cooley hired vocalist Tex Williams who was capable of the mellow deep baritone sound made popular by Duncan. 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 1944, and was No. 1 on the country charts for two months. A Red Foley / Lawrence Welk collaboration issued by Decca (18698) was No. 4 to Cooley's No. 5 on Billboard's "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" listing in September 1945. Soundies Distributing Corp. of America issued one of their "music video like" film shorts of Cooley's band titled "Shame on You" in the fall of 1945. "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 Western films, both in bit parts and as a stand-in for cowboy actor Roy Rogers. Billed as Spade Cooley and His Western Dance Gang, he was featured in the soundie Take Me Back to Tulsa released July 31, 1944, along with Tex Williams and Carolina Cotton.Corrine, Corrina was released August 28, 1944 minus Cotton.
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