Today at MR. MEADOWLARK'S MUSIC AND MEMORIES we present a gem of an album, "16 Greatest Hits of Cowboy Copas". This superb compilation was released by Starday Records in 1977 and contains 16 of his best cuts recorded between 1959 and 1962.
Cowboy Copas' real name was Lloyd Estel Copas. He was born on a ranch near Muskogee, Oklahoma on July 15, 1913. Cope, as he was often called, talked briefly about his early boyhood in an article he once wrote; "I grew up like most all boys, going to school and living an outdoor life". "At the age of 14 I had my opportunity to broadcast my first radio program from KVOO in Tulsa, Oklahoma". Several years later Cope met an Indian boy who played the Fiddle, his name was Natchee. Cope was also one-quarter Indian and the two soon became close friends. Later the two travelled to Cincinnati, and Natchee dared Cope to enter a talent contest there. Well, Cope played the Guitar and Natchee played the Fiddle, and to the surprise of both of them, the pair walked off with first prize. That was the start of a professional partnership that took Cope and Natchee throughout the country where they played at county fairs, nightclubs, and dances. Cope began making numerous appearances on radio stations, and before long he felt as much at home in front of a "mike" as on a stage. Since in most cases they played for the gate receipts, the two started conducting fiddlin' contests to increase the gate receipts. In 1940 Cope and Natchee split and Cope joined the staff of a Knoxville, Tennessee radio station where he had a series of regular programs. He later returned to Cincinnati where he appeared on shows at radio station WKRC. It was while he was there that an executive of King Records first contacted him. He signed with King Records in 1944, and his first release was "Filipino Baby", which became a tremendous hit. Cope joined Pee Wee King's unit at the "Grand Ole Opry", and after a year Cope's popularity increased tremendously. His record sales were great and people turned out by the thousands to see him. He formed his own band "The Oklahoma Cowboys" and joined the "Grand Ole Opry" in 1946. Then came a string of hits that made Country Music History, included were "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered", "Tennessee Waltz" (which is now the official state song of Tennessee), "Kentucky Waltz", "Tennessee Moon", and others. The people who went to see Cope on personal appearances numbered in the millions. In one year alone it was reported that over 300,000 came to his personal appearances. He appeared personally on over 200 radio stations in the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico, in addition to his regular appearances on the "Grand Ole Opry". Mail came in from fans at a rate of some 3,000 letters per week. Over the years, however, Cope had his ups and downs, as the career of any perfomer isn't all a "Bed of Roses". He travelled 150,000 miles per year to make personal appearances, this was hard work. Then there were periods when his record sales dropped, but through all this Cope never lost his faith in Himself, or Country Music. After every lull in his career, Cope bounced back with successful records. One of his biggest hits came after an extended length of time when he had not had a hit. The song was "Alabam'", which combined his singing talents and his tricky pickin' on the Flat Top Guitar. The record hit in the country field, and in the pop field. It was also recorded by Pat Boone.
In early 1963, Cope, along with many other Country Music stars, went to Kansas City to perform on a show for the benefit of the family of Jack Call, a disc jockey who had died recently. It was typical of him and the other artists, that their arduous schedule should be interrupted for such an appearance, a gesture that each of them made willingly many times over, and indicative of their generosity and sincerity. This was to be Cope's final appearance. He, along with Hawkshaw Hawkins, Patsy Cline, and Patsy's manager Randy Hughes (who was also Cope's son-in-law), all died in the crash of their light plane on the way home from the benefit show. They crashed near Camden, Tennessee in a storm on March 5, 1963. The story of the crash and resultant deaths was carried by news services around the world, and Life Magazine did a feature story on the crash and deaths.
The music of Cowboy Copas, however, will live on forever by way of his recordings. We present this album to you, with the words Cope himself once wrote to his fans. He wrote: "It is with real pleasure that I offer to you, my friends, the songs that I sing in the hope that you may derive as much pleasure from them as I do singing them for you".
Hope y'all enjoy it!
TRACKLISTING:
Alabam'/Signed, Sealed, and Delivered/Beyond The Sunset/Flat Top Guitar/Cowboy's Deck of Cards/Louisian'/Goodbye Kisses/From The Manger To The Cross/Tragic Romance/Satisfied Mind/Cope's Wildflower/There'll Come A Time/Sunny Tennessee/Waltzing With Sin/Filipino Baby/I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven.
Get it
HERE
