Spade cooley biography channel

The show was enormously popular, garnering ratings of 75 percent and consistently beating the nationally broadcast Milton Berle Show in the local California ratings market. Waning interest in western swing and several heart attacks, however, brought Cooley's television career to an end in the early s. When his show ceased production, Cooley engaged in a wild real estate scheme that left him nearly bankrupt.

A heavy drinker and reputed drug abuser, his behavior became increasingly erratic. Cooley had had previous brushes with the lawinhe was arrested and acquitted on rape chargesbut none as shocking as his arrest for the brutal murder of his wife, Ella Mae, in According to music historian Nick Toshes, Ella Mae had boasted for many years that she once had a sexual relationship with Roy Rogers.

Although she and Cooley were separated, Cooley repeatedly had tried for reconciliation. On April 3,he forced the couple's year-old daughter, Melody, to observe his him as he brutalized and murdered his wife. The scandal of the trial and Melody's testimony against her father led Cooley to suffer another heart attack. He was sentenced to life in prison at Vacaville.

He was a model prisoner, and was two months from parole in November of when he died backstage while on a hour furlough, in which he performed for the spade cooley biography channel time at an Oakland concert to benefit the Alameda Deputy Sheriff's Association. His final performance garnered a standing ovation. Selected discography Singles "Shame on You," Albums Spadella!

Cooley appeared in thirty-eight Western films, both in bit parts and as a stand-in for cowboy actor Roy Rogers. Cooley's band was then featured in the Western film Melody Stampede released on November 8, ByCooley had significant roles in several films. In the summer ofthe Cooley band fragmented after the bandleader fired Tex Williams, who had offers to record on his own.

A number of key sidemen, including guitarist Johnny Weis, left with Williams, who formed the Western Caravan, which incorporated a sound similar to Cooley's. Williams had his hit recording of "Smoke! That Cigarette " in Cooley reconstituted his band with former Bob Wills sidemen, including talented steel guitarist Noel Boggs and the guitar ensemble of Jimmy Wyble and Cameron Hill.

He also added full brass and reed sections to the band with tightly rehearsed arrangements that strayed from Wills' improvised Swing style. Cooley also brought a strong emphasis of the accordion to most of the band's songs, which many Western Swing traditionalists claim was the beginning of the end of being a dance band.

Spade cooley biography channel

Cooley's well-polished music evolved into more of a "show" band versus Wills' improvisational "dance" band. The show became a mainstay of television in the area, and won local Emmy awards in and The Hoffman Hayride was so popular that an estimated 75 percent of all televisions in the L. Making use of video transcriptions, Cooley eventually transformed it into The Spade Cooley Show and it was viewed coast-to-coast via the Paramount Television Network.

With looks similar to those of actor Roy Rogers, he filled for a couple of parts and as a stand-in for the actor. All in all, Cooley appeared in a total of thirty-eight Western films altogether. He was simultaneously making his music alongside his acting by the early to mids by then. There was no recorded date of the event, but people claimed that the title was more deserving to Wills.

The show bagged the local Emmy Awards of and and even had prominent guests at the program such as Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, and Frankie Laine to name a few. Inthe world turned eyes toward Spade Cooley not for his music and acting but to the murder of his wife. He started suspecting his wife for adultery despite him having his affairs and her asking for a divorce.

American singer-songwriter and convicted murderer — GrandOklahomaU. OaklandCaliforniaU. Musical artist. Early life [ edit ]. Music career [ edit ]. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Personal life [ edit ]. This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. February Murder of Ella Mae Evans [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. In popular culture [ edit ]. Discography [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. Archived from the original on Retrieved August 5, Guinness Publishing. ISBN Oklahoma Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2 November Retrieved 11 May John Gilmore.

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